Reworked Article:
EU Tightens Imports: Four High-Risk Countries Under Scrutiny for Deforestation
EU Commission Imposes Tighter Import Regulations on Specific Nations
Got a hot cup of Joe from Brazil or a palm oil-based snack from Indonesia? Fear not, for now, these countries are temporarily spared the brunt of tighter import rules under a recently passed EU law against deforestation. However, four countries have been singled out as high-risk offenders: Belarus, North Korea, Myanmar, and Russia. These countries face severely restrictive import rules.
This classification is in line with the EU regulation for deforestation-free supply chains, a law prohibiting the sale of certain products whose cultivation areas have been deforested since 2020, including coffee, palm oil, soybeans, cocoa, rubber, and beef[1]. Companies are required to verify compliance with these rules using satellite-based location data. The stricter the risk of deforestation in a country, the more stringent the necessary data and controls. The law outlines three risk categories: low, standard, and high.
As of Tuesday's reports, all EU countries, the US, and China are classified as low risk, while only those countries already subject to trade sanctions, such as Belarus, North Korea, Myanmar, and Russia, are in the high-risk category[2]. This classification created a stir last year due to delays in risk classification, issues with the IT system for companies, and undelivered documents. Facing pressure from trading partners like Brazil and EU member states themselves, legislators postponed the sales ban deadline from the end of 2024 to December 31, 2025[3].
EU member states reportedly gave their approval to the Commission's classification in a confidential vote on Monday. An official publication of the list is expected in mid-June.
Source: ntv.de, AFP
[1] The European Union's regulation for deforestation-free supply chains (EUDR) affects the import of goods from high-risk countries, including those associated with deforestation.[2] Four countries - Belarus, North Korea, Myanmar, and Russia - have been identified as high-risk for deforestation under the EUDR regulation.[3] European lawmakers pushed back the sales ban deadline from the end of 2024 to December 31, 2025, to address criticisms and concerns of trading partners, including Brazil.
- The EU regulation for deforestation-free supply chains, preventing the sale of products linked to deforestation since 2020, includes vocational training for companies to verify compliance with the rules using satellite-based location data.
- In the realm of environmental-science and policy-and-legislation, the EU has classified Belarus, North Korea, Myanmar, and Russia as high-risk countries for deforestation, subjecting them to severely restrictive import rules under the new law.
- As the world grapples with climate-change, the recent EU tightening of imports from four high-risk countries has sparked heated discussions in politics and general-news, with trading partners like Brazil voicing concerns and pressuring the EU to reconsider the deadline for the sales ban, which has been postponed to December 31, 2025.
