Brazil, the United States and other countries had criticized the law -- which aims to prevent the import of products that drive deforestation -- as being too complex, arguing it would particularly hurt small-scale producers.
It had been due to take effect at the end of 2024 but the European Commission on Wednesday proposed delaying implementation for large companies until the end of 2025.
Small businesses will have until June 2026 to comply.
Welcoming the postponement, Brazil's agriculture ministry told AFP it was the fruit of "international dialogue, in which Brazil had a key role in underlining the concerns of our producers."
The ministry added that Brazil, home to about two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest, huge chunks of which have been felled for agriculture, remained "firmly committed to environmental preservation" and would seek to "ensure fair adaptation to the new European rules."
Asian commodity producers also expressed relief over the extension but environmentalist groups voiced outrage.
Greenpeace declared EU chief Ursula von der Leyen "might as well have wielded the chainsaw herself" to the forests.
The Brazilian Climate Observatory called the extension a "shameful step backwards" which jeopardized the fight against deforestation as the country chokes from the smoke from thousands of fires caused mainly by clearing the Amazon.
"Europe is deliberately renouncing an instrument that could help reduce the pressure on natural ecosystems and carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation," it said in a statement.
The EU's new law requires exporters of timber, cattle, cocoa, soy, palm oil, rubber, coffee -- and items derived from those products -- to certify their goods were not produced on land deforested after December 2020.
The EU is the second-biggest market for the targeted products after China.
Brazil in September asked the EU to postpone the legislation, complaining that the "punitive" rules increased production and export costs, especially for smallholders.
Germany and other countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America had also insisted that companies needed more time to prepare.
- Divided opinions -
Nguyen Xuan Loi, head of Vietnamese coffee exporter An Thai Group, hailed the delay as a "positive move."
"In reality, Vietnam has been strictly managing deforestation issues," he told AFP. "There are hardly any violations anymore."
There was also relief in some sectors in Indonesia, the world's largest palm oil producer, a key driver of deforestation.
"Our calls have been listened to," said Eddy Martono, chairman of the country's leading palm oil association.
Indonesian environmental group WALHI said however it could "not imagine how much more land-clearing or deforestation the one-year delay could cause in West Kalimantan and other places like Papua."
EU imports accounted for 16 percent of deforestation linked to global trade in 2017, according to WWF.
When the law was adopted in 2023 it was hailed as a major breakthrough to protect nature and the climate.
Under the law, firms importing the merchandise 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.
Exporting countries considered high-risk would have at least nine percent of products sent to the EU subjected to checks.
The postponement of the law has yet to be approved by the European Parliament and member states.
Facing backlash, EU moves to delay deforestation rules
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Oct 2, 2024 -
The European Commission on Wednesday proposed to delay by a year a ban on imports of products driving deforestation that has faced pushback from countries around the world.
The move triggered an immediate outcry from environmental groups, which had hailed the unprecedented law as a major breakthrough in the fight to protect nature and the climate.
The legislation, which will bar 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, was set to take effect at the end of this year.
But the EU's top executive body faced mounting pressure to postpone the ban after trading partners from Brazil to the United States and even European heavyweight Germany spoke out against it.
Citing "feedback received from international partners about their state of preparations", the commission said it was proposing a delay to "give concerned parties additional time to prepare".
The "extra 12 months", which need to be approved by the European Parliament and member states, would serve as a "phasing-in period to ensure proper and effective implementation" of the law adopted in mid-2023, it said.
- 'Nature vandalism' -
EU imports are responsible for 16 percent of global deforestation, according to WWF data.
Forests absorb carbon and are a vital element in fighting climate change. They are also critical for the survival of endangered plants and animals, such as orangutans and lowland gorillas.
Environmental group Mighty Earth described the proposed delay as an "act of nature vandalism".
"Delaying... is like throwing a fire extinguisher out of the window of a burning building," said the Mighty Earth's senior policy director Julian Oram.
Greenpeace called the delay "inexcusable". EU chief Ursula von der Leyen "might as well have wielded the chainsaw herself", it added.
Germany became the latest nation to call for a delayed rollout in September, saying the conditions were not yet there for the law to be efficiently applied.
Brazil, the United States and other countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America have complained the rules increased production and export costs, especially for smallholders.
Others objected that, with only a few months to go, the EU had yet to issue the promised compliance guidelines as well as a clear benchmarking system to divide countries into different risk categories.
The commission addressed the latter concern on Wednesday, publishing documents it said would provide additional clarity to companies and enforcing authorities -- as well as the methodology it will use for the benchmarking system.
A large majority of countries worldwide will be classified as "low risk", it said.
- 'Time to prepare' -
Germany's Agriculture Minister Cem Ozdemir welcomed the delay. It would give companies and countries "time to prepare adequately for the implementation of this important regulation", he said.
Critics have cast the anti-deforestation law as a major obstacle to reaching a free trade agreement between the EU and South American bloc Mercosur -- a plan championed by Germany, whose Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Wednesday for a rapid conclusion to the talks.
Under the law, 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.
Exporting countries considered high-risk would have at least nine percent of products sent to the EU subjected to checks, with the proportion falling for lower-risk ones.
The postponement would see the rules enter into force for large companies on December 30, 2025.
"Micro- and small enterprises" will have until June 30, 2026 to comply, the commission said.
"The extension proposal in no way puts into question the objectives or the substance of the law," it added.
But Luciana Tellez Chavez, a senior researcher on the environment at Human Rights Watch, accused von der Leyen of sabotaging "the most significant environmental legislation passed during her previous term".
The delay punished "all the companies and EU trading partners who deployed efforts and resources to comply" on time, and contradicted European commitments to end forest loss, she said.
The EU is the second-biggest market for the targeted products after China.
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