If implemented, the EUDR will require proof that soybean plantings like this one have not contributed to deforestation. (Photo by Marcus Mesquita/Shutterstock)
The European Union (EU) and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) recently signed a long-delayed free-trade deal, but questions persist about the future of a highly controversial, trade-related environmental law the EU has advanced separately. The environmental law, called the EU Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products (EUDR), was formally adopted in 2023, but ongoing disagreements have delayed its actual implementation date. The EUDR aims to prevent trade-related production of EU-bound agricultural commodities such as soy, beef, palm oil, timber, cocoa, coffee, and rubber, from fueling forest destruction worldwide—particularly in countries with extensive rainforests, such as Brazil and Bolivia. Specifically, the rule states that producers and traders must prove that the commodities do not originate on land that was cleared or degraded since Dec. 31, 2020. Under the free-trade deal, the EU will gradually eliminate nearly all customs duties on trade with Mercosur, which comprises... [Log in to read more]
