A consortium of eight U.S. wood-related trade groups signed a letter requesting the European Commission to push back the mandatory compliance deadline of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) by 24 months.
The EUDR was implemented last June to limit the EU market’s impact on global deforestation and forest degradation, as well as to promote deforestation-free supply chains, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and protect human rights. Compliance of the EUDR is scheduled to begin at December 30 of this year. Large companies trading in the wood marketplace will have to prove that their commodities do not originate from recently deforested areas or contribute to forest degradation.
In their letter emailed to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, the U.S. wood groups agreed that they “view healthy forests and their sustainable management as a core responsibility.… However, a regulation of this scope and scale must be implemented with great care and due diligence. An additional 24 months will provide the time necessary for both regulators and producers to understand, evaluate, and prepare for substantial, sector-wide changes required to comply with the law.
“As a global leader in modern, sustainable forest management and forest product manufacturing, the U.S. is already delivering on the intent of the EUDR. The EU Observatory on deforestation and forest degradation correctly shows that deforestation in the U.S. is negligible.”
The U.S. consortium includes American Hardwood Export Council, American Forest & Paper Association, American Wood Council. Decorative Hardwoods Association, Forest Resources Association, Hardwood Federation, National Alliance of Forest Owners, and U.S. Industrial Pellet Association.
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