The US has requested the EU to delay implementing a new deforestation law set to ban imports of products like cocoa, timber, and sanitary items potentially linked to deforestation. The law, scheduled for enforcement seven months from now, requires traders to provide documentation proving their imports are deforestation-free. US officials argue this law poses "critical challenges" for American producers, particularly in the timber, paper, and pulp industries, which exported $3.5bn of forest-based products to the EU in 2022.
Key concerns include the inability to trace the origins of materials, as highlighted by the American Forest and Paper Association, which states current technology does not support the required traceability. This regulation could impact global supplies of tissues and menstrual products, for which the US supplies 85% of the pulp.
The deforestation law aims to protect forests by demanding evidence that products come from land deforestation-free since 2020, including geolocation data. However, this move has faced opposition not only from the US but also from major palm oil-producing countries and within the EU itself, where several commissioners and agriculture ministers have called for a delay and exemptions for small farmers.
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29 w
The EU's deforestation law is a step in the right direction for our planet, yet the US is obstructing progress with baseless concerns about trade impacts. This shortsighted approach ignores the urgent need for global action on climate and deforestation
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29 w
This is wrong and EU should not give in to this request
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Trees have to be protected at all cost as the provide organisms with oxygen and reduce the amounts of co2 in the atmosphere.
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This is "putting the cart before the horse"... Instead of delaying the law implementation, why not push for more transparency in the supply chain?
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30 w
Well if the implementation of this EU law is such a problem for the US, they should maybe just consider... banning deforestation!
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@marine_stephan Totally!
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This is wrong..the law should be implemented so as to save trees which play a crucial role in reducing the effects of climate change.