EU delays stricter rules on imports from deforested areas

The EU intends to delay the application of strict rules on imports from areas prone to deforestation after several governments in Asia, Africa and Latin America complained that the rules would be burdensome, unfair and scare off investors.

Brussels will put off classification of countries into low, standard or high risk, which was due to be implemented by December, instead designating every country as standard risk to give them more time to adapt to the anti-deforestation regulation, three EU officials told the Financial Times.

“We will simply not classify which means everywhere will be medium risk — we need more time to get the system in place,” said one official. “We have had a lot of complaints from partners. [The delay] means no country will have an advantage over another.”

The law, part of the EU’s flagship Green Deal, was passed last year and aims to reduce EU consumers’ role in cutting down woodland by barring imports including coffee, cocoa, palm oil and rubber that have been grown in deforested areas from being sold in the bloc.

But the regulation prompted ire from several developing nations that accused the EU of forcing its green standards on to others. Major palm oil producing countries including Indonesia and Malaysia raised “multiple concerns” over the rules in a letter to the European Commission in September.

“The legislation disregards local circumstances and capabilities, national legislation and certification mechanisms of developing producer countries, [as well as] their efforts to fight deforestation and multilateral commitments, including the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities,” it said.

Source: Financial Times

Click here to access the full, original text: https://www.ft.com/content/8dab4dc6-197b-4a2f-86f0-d5e83ce00b09

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