Europe’s signature deforestation regulations will infringe on private property rights – the cornerstone of the United States economic, social and legal systems. That is, according to a letter co-signed by 18 agricultural commissioners representing the South and Midwest.
Addressed to Marco Rubio – Trump’s new Secretary of State; Brooke Rollins – Secretary of Agriculture; Jeremy Pelter – Acting Secretary of Commerce; and Juan Millian – Acting US trade representative, the letter comes days after Wood Central reported that the American Forest and Paper Association was pushing for the Trump administration to strong-arm the EU into embracing a “no risk” pathway to EUDR compliance.
According to Wilton Simpson, Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner, the EUDR, if enacted as written, would severely impact the US timber industry – the world’s largest producer of pulp, paper and lumber products:
“We finally have a leader in the White House, President Trump, and an administration that cares about farmers and will push back on policies that put America at a disadvantage. Our voices matter, and with this letter and the personal advocacy of agriculture commissioners across the states, I believe we can turn back the impending policies that do not recognise the good work of our American foresters who believe in appropriate stewardship and true sustainability.”
Wilton Simpson, Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner, on the role that the Trump administration can play in influencing the European Union’s EUDR.
The letter said the EUDR’s “one size fits all approach” to deforestation ignores the fact that the United States is amongst the world’s most responsible suppliers of forest fibre: “Our forest product industry and its supply chain do not contribute to global deforestation, yet the EUDR rule will subject the US to the same burdensome, costly, and unnecessary obligations as countries with high deforestation risk.”
“As currently conceived, the EUDR rule will unjustifiably increase our compliance costs while providing essentially no benefit to global deforestation or degradation,” the letter said.
The commissioners noted three major concerns of the regulation: 1) infringement of private property rights, 2) the confidentiality and security of geolocation traceability, and 3) economic impacts on US agriculture.
“By prohibiting timber mills from accepting wood from lands that are planned for conversion to another agricultural use, the EUDR rule limits landowners’ options and handicaps their ability to employ the highest and best use of their land,” the commissioners wrote. “Private property rights are a cornerstone of the US economic, legal, and social systems. They provide the foundation for economic growth, investment, and innovation.”
If left unchanged, the commissioners said, the EUDR is projected to have a $8 billion annual impact on US agricultural exports to the European Union: “The U.S. forest products industry accounts for approximately 5% of the nation’s total manufacturing gross domestic product, manufactures approximately $350 billion in products annually, employs roughly 925,000 people, and is among the top 10 manufacturing sectors with employers in 43 states across the country.”
Last year, Wood Central reported that a cross-section of Democrat and Republican senators successfully lobbied the Biden administration to push back on the EUDR’s “impossible standards” over concerns about traceability and deforestation definitions – which “impose costly requirements on exporters” and limit access.
As it stands, the EUDR – slated to come into effect on December 30 – categorises countries as high, standard and low-risk – with the European Commission quashing attempts by lawmakers to add a “no risk” category “for stable or increasing forest area development” – a move that would in effect create loopholes for resource laundering according to environmental groups.
In September last year, 73 House Republicans and Democrats – including representatives from the Northeast, American South, Midwest and West Coast – lobbied for Biden to push for a 24-month delay to the EUDR. The letter, obtained by Wood Central, was co-signed by a group led by Michelle Steel (Californian Republican), arguing that the US “still lacks critical clarity from EU officials on specific data requirements, data input systems and formats, and underlying definitions that will affect the entire U.S. forestry supply chain.”
So far, several government officials from China, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia have expressed concern with the EUDR – with India warning the new rules were “akin to a non-tariff barrier” and risked delaying a €124B free trade agreement.
- For more information on EUDR and its impact on global furniture supply chains, visit Wood Central’s special feature on EUDR and its implications for the European supply chain for timber-based furniture products.
