EU publishes deforestation commodity law

EU publishes deforestation commodity law

Brussels, 17 November (Argus) — Cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, soya and wood commodities and products will be subject to due diligence requirements under a draft legal proposal published by the European Commission today. The regulation, if adopted, will apply in all EU countries and will ban the sale and export or re-export of these commodities if they are linked to deforestation.

The proposed regulation combines due diligence requirements with a country benchmarking system for deforestation and forest degradation linked to the listed commodities. The commission will also take into account a country's "engagement" in fighting deforestation and forest degradation. Due diligence obligations for operators and member state authorities differ according to whether countries are categorised as of low, standard or high risk.

The commission has set a cut-off date after which the commodities and products covered by the regulation will not be allowed to enter or exit the EU market if produced on land subject to deforestation or forest degradation after 31 December 2020. The regulation also contains a geographic information obligation whereby operators must collect the co-ordinates of all plots of land where the relevant commodities and products were produced.