European Union: EU Commission Proposes Rules to Curb Deforestation Linked to Agricultural Production

On November 17, 2021, the European Commission published a proposal for legislation aimed at preventing products causing deforestation or forest degradation from entering the EU market. The proposal targets commodities identified by the Commission as the main drivers of agricultural expansion leading to deforestation: soy, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa, and coffee. The proposal lays down mandatory due diligence rules for companies wanting to place these commodities on the EU market. The proposed legislation also introduces a benchmarking system to assess countries and their level of risk of deforestation and forest degradation driven by the commodities in the scope of the regulation. The risk level assigned to each country through the benchmarking system (low, standard, or high) will determine the level of scrutiny applied to the relevant products it exports to the EU. The Members States and the European Parliament will now assess and amend the proposal and agree on a compromise legal text.