US debates law that could bar US$ 500 million in Brazilian exports due to deforestation

The US Congress is studying creating a law that could bar the importation into the US of items such as soy, cocoa, cattle, rubber, palm oil, and wood and its derivatives from countries with high rates of forest deforestation if the rural producer and the American importer do not prove that the origins of these products – and their entire production chain – passed through illegally deforested areas.

The legislative bill, named Forest Act 2021, or Forestry Law 2021, was presented last Wednesday (6/10), and is the most comprehensive legal framework on the subject proposed in the US in recent years. In justifying the project, to which BBC News Brasil had first-hand access, Democratic senator Brian Schatz and Democratic congressman Earl Blumenauer, authors of the bill, cite Brazil and its bovine products as an example of the problem.

“In 2020, the US imported processed beef and hides valued at more than $500 million from Brazil. There, livestock is the biggest driver of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest and other biomes, and 95% of all deforestation is against the law “, write the authors in the bill presented simultaneously to the Chamber and the Senate.

Apart from Brazil, only Indonesia was mentioned by name in the text.

While saying the rule is not aimed at countries, but at preventing global warming and environmental devastation, US lawmakers recognize that Brazil must be affected if the law passes, which they hope will happen by November 2022.

Source: BBC

To read the full original article, visit the link:

https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-58826789

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