Indonesia and Brazil led over a dozen countries in seeking a voice in the European Union’s implementation of the bloc’s anti-deforestation law.
In a joint letter, 17 countries asked for the bloc to involve commodity-producing nations when drafting the implementing rules, Indonesia’s foreign ministry said in a Friday statement. The countries also urged the EU to avoid worsening trade disruptions and administrative burden including from requirements for traceability.
The world’s top food producers are pushing back against the law that bans imports of raw materials from newly deforested land anywhere in the world, part of the EU’s effort to use trade to pursue climate goals beyond its borders. The rule demands a complex tracking system that could raise costs and sideline millions of small farmers across Asia, Latin America and Africa who may be unable to comply.
The letter of concern was signed in Brussels on Thursday by Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Colombia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Paraguay, Peru, Thailand and the Dominican Republic.
