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1 1 (October 2, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveqvm0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congres&on I Research Se informing I Iej~ I live (V )ate e I~ 14 0 October 2, 2024 Implications of the European Union Deforestation Regulation Many people have expressed concerns about global deforestation (the conversion of forest for non-forest uses) andforest degradation (the conversion of primary forests to other forest types). Forests store terrestrial carbon and are key components of the global carbon cycle. When forests are cleared, burned, or altered by weather events, they can release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which can exacerbate the effects of climate change. Deforestation can also reduce biodiversity, alter local weather patterns, and disrupt Indigenous peoples' cultures. Annual global deforestation is approximately 7.5 million hectares (28.9 thousand square miles, annual average from 2015 to 2020), with most deforestation occurring in tropical countries such as Brazil and Indonesia. The largest driver of global deforestation is agricultural expansion, which includes ranching. The European Union (EU) and China are the largest importers of agricultural goods that are grown in areas at risk of deforestation. To try to minimize its contribution to global deforestation and forest degradation, the EU passed the EU Deforestation-Free Regulation (EUDR) in 2023. The regulation prohibits the import and export of certain agricultural commodities produced on land deforested after 2020. The regulation is scheduled to take effect on December 30, 2024. However, on October 1, 2024, the European Commission proposed a one-year delay in implementing the EUDR. Provided the EU's 27 member parties and Parliament agree, the EUDR would go into effect on December 30, 2025. Uncertainty about the EUDR's implementation, requirements, and effect on U.S. producers has generated concern from some in Congress. Summary of the EUDR The EUDR's primary stipulation is that listed commodities and products shall not be made available in the EU market, or exported from the EU, unless they are (1) derived from lands that were not deforested after 2020, (2) produced in accordance with legislation in the country of production, and (3) covered by a due diligence statement. The covered commodities and products are listed in Table 1, and selected regulatory definitions are listed in Table 2. Table I. Commodities and Products Under the EUDR Commodities Products Cattle Cocoa Coffee Palm Oil Rubber Meat, offal, hides, and leather of cattle; live cattle Cocoa beans, shells, butter, and powder; chocolate Coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffeinated Palm nuts and kernels; palm oil Natural, compounded, and vulcanized rubber; rubber tires Commodities Products Soybeans Soybean flour, meal, and oil; soybeans, whether or not broken Wood Fuel wood; plywood; densified wood; wood pulp; paper; and articles constructed of wood, such as tools, boxes, prefabricated buildings, and printed books Table 2. Selected Definitions Under the EUDR Term Definition Deforestation The conversion of forest to agricultural use, whether human-induced or not Forest Structural changes to forest cover, taking the form Degradation of the conversion of primary forests into planted forests, plantation forests, or other wooded land Operator Any natural or legal person who, in the course of commercial activity, places relevant products on the market or exports them Under the EUDR, an operator seeking to import a covered commodity into the EU market is required to prepare a due diligence statement to accompany the goods. Among other things, the statement is to include a description of the relevant products, the quantity of those products, the country of their harvest and production, and the geolocation of all plots of land where the commodities that the product contains were produced. The EU is planning to conduct a risk assessment of countries of production to determine the extent of due diligence needed for importing countries to comply with the regulation. Countries of production are to be classified into one of three tiers as follows: * High Risk: Countries that have a high risk of producing commodities that do not comply with the regulation. * Low Risk: Countries that provide significant assurances that the production of commodities that do not comply with the regulation will be rare. * Standard Risk: Countries that do not fall into either of the other two categories. All countries are to be initially assigned a standard level of risk until further assessed. The list of countries that are identified as high or low risk can be reviewed and updated as often as necessary in light of new evidence. Operators from countries labeled as low risk may follow simplified due diligence procedures, which exempt them from completing a risk assessment and risk mitigation that operators from high- and standard-risk countries will need

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