EU to Again Delay Anti-Deforestation Due Diligence Rules
The EU is again postponing implementation of its new deforestation reporting requirements, proposing a one-year delay because its IT system isn't ready to handle all the transactions for products covered by the regulation, Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall told the European Parliament Sept. 23.
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Roswall said the European Commission is expecting a larger load on the IT system than it previously projected, partly due to the high volume of small packages imported into the EU and the expected "impact on the length of replies" to companies about the data they submit. This will "very likely lead to the system slowing down to unacceptable levels or even to repeated and long-lasting disruptions, which would negatively impact companies and their possibilities to comply with the" new rules.
Roswall said the commission is "considering" postponing the rules for one year from Dec. 30 "to avoid uncertainty for authorities and operational difficulties for stakeholders in the EU and third countries, and to allow time to remedy the identified risks."
This would be the second delay of the new regulation, which is expected to set mandatory due diligence rules for traders who import or export palm oil, beef, timber, coffee, cocoa, rubber and soy to or from the EU market (see 2407180047 and [Ref:2307270041). The law was scheduled to take effect for most large companies Dec. 30, 2024, and for small companies June 30, 2025, but an agreement struck between members of the European Parliament and Council extended those dates to Dec. 30, 2025, and June 30, 2026, respectively (see 2412060050).
The announcement comes about a month after the EU and the U.S. agreed to a trade framework in which the EU committed to limiting any unfair burdens on American exporters stemming from the anti-deforestation regulation and other European supply chain due diligence rules (see 2508210017).