EU Proposes Ban on Imports Contributing to Deforestation
The European Commission this week proposed new rules that would restrict imports to “deforestation-free” goods in a bid to combat global deforestation, global warming and biodiversity loss. The rules would set “mandatory” due diligence requirements and add to the compliance responsibilities for importers of goods associated with deforestation, such as soy, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa, coffee and leather.
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The proposed regulations would be the “most ambitious legislative attempts to tackle these issues worldwide ever," said Virginijus Sinkevicius, EC commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries. The commission said the rules would “guarantee that the products that EU citizens buy, use and consume on the EU market do not contribute to global deforestation and forest degradation.”
As part of the proposed due diligence requirements, importers and other EU “operators” would be required to collect and record the geographic coordinates of the land where their imports were produced, the commission said Nov. 17. This “strict traceability” measure will allow member states’ enforcement officers to make sure only deforestation-free products enter the EU market, the EC said.
The commission would also issue a list of countries with a low, standard or a high risk of producing products that are not deforestation-free, and the “obligations” of the importer may vary depending on the risk level of their products’ country of origin. Importers would benefit from “simplified due diligence duties” if their imports come from low-risk countries, but would be subject to “enhanced scrutiny” if importing from high-risk areas.
If the proposal is approved by the European Parliament and member states, the EU plans to keep an evolving list of products that will be captured by the import restrictions, including palm oil and cocoa. Companies would be required to implement their own “due-diligence systems” if they import these goods, the commission said, which includes submitting a statement to a “European information system” confirming that they have exercised due diligence and the imports are compliant.
The commission said the rules would require importers to make sure their products haven’t been produced on land deforested or degraded after Dec. 21, 2020, among other requirements. Non-compliance could result in penalties or a “prohibition to place those products on the EU market,” the commission said, adding that the cost of compliance for companies to set up due-diligence systems is “lower than the expected benefits of the policy intervention.” Member states will be responsible for their own enforcement.
Although import restrictions could increase, the EU stressed that it won’t ban imports from any single country or of any commodity. “Sustainable producers will continue to be able to sell their goods to the EU,” the commission said, adding that it expects the demand for deforestation-free goods to grow.