EU list of high deforestation risk nations raises eyebrows
by AFP Staff Writers
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) May 13, 2025

A deforestation benchmarking system approved by EU member states lists only four countries as at high-risk for tree-felling, sources confirmed Tuesday, sparking criticism from environmentalists.

The list, yet to be officially published, is a key component of a sweeping anti-deforestation law approved late last year which has faced opposition from businesses and some of the EU's trading partners.

Approved on Monday by the bloc's 27 members, the list rates all EU countries as well as China and the United States as low-risk nations -- subjecting them to less stringent export checks, according to several sources.

Brazil and Indonesia, feature among standard-risk countries while only Russia, Belarus, North Korea, and Myanmar are in the high-risk category.

Marie Toussaint, a European lawmaker with the Greens said she was "surprised" by the ranking of some countries.

And environmental group Global Witness complained that the benchmarking system "fell short", with "countries like Brazil and Paraguay not categorised as 'high risk', despite the deforestation crisis consuming climate-critical forests" there.

Yet, "flawed as it may be" the law was still a step in the right direction, it added.

The rules that come into force at the end of the year prohibit a vast range of goods -- from coffee to cocoa, soy, timber, palm oil, cattle, printing paper and rubber -- if produced using land that was deforested after December 2020.

Firms importing the merchandise in question to the 27-nation EU will be responsible for tracking their supply chains to prove goods did not originate from deforested zones, relying on geolocation and satellite data.

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