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The European Parliament approved on April 19 the deforestation regulation that requires mandatory due diligence from operators and traders selling and importing wood, cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, soya, rubber into the EU. The votes were divided into 552 for, 44 against and 43 abstentions.<\/span><\/p>\n Also covered are derivative products that contain, have been fed with or made using cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, soya, rubber and wood \u2014 such as leather, chocolate and furniture as well as charcoal, printed paper products and certain palm oil derivatives.<\/p>\n Firms must ensure products sold in the EU have not caused deforestation or forest degradation. The law sets penalties for non-compliance with a maximum fine of at least 4pc of the total annual EU turnover of the non-compliant operator or trader.<\/p>\n During the negotiations, the parliament said it successfully widened definition of forest degradation to include conversion of primary forests or naturally regenerating forests into plantation forests or other wooded land.<\/p>\n Finland abstained from voting on the approval of the regulation last December and left a statement in which points that were particularly problematic for Finland were highlighted.\u00a0Finland is clarifying the interpretation of the deforestation regulation with the EU institutions.<\/p>\n The regulation has caused confusion, because there is uncertainty about its interpretation.\u00a0Strictly interpreted, even Finnish cattle and dairy farms are no longer allowed to expand their production buildings or pastures in such a way that forest is cut down in their path.<\/p>\n Citing deforestation in Brazil, the parliament previously voted for an amendment stating that the EU's free trade deal (FTA) with Mercosur countries \u2014 Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay \u2014 cannot be ratified. EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovkis cited the need for meaningful results on deforestation when suspending the process of ratification of the FTA with Mercosur.<\/p>\n The parliament and member states agreed provisionally on the deforestation law in December 2022. Following approval by EU ministers, entry into force will see all countries assigned a \"standard\" risk level. The European Commission will then benchmark countries within 18 months. The law sets a total of 9pc of operators and traders being subject to checks if importing products from \"high-risk\" countries.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The European Parliament approved on April 19 the deforestation regulation that requires mandatory due diligence from operators and traders selling and importing wood, cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, soya, rubber into the EU. The votes were divided into 552 for, … Continue reading