Under the European Union’s new anti-deforestation rule, the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), Belarus, Myanmar, North Korea, and Russia have been identified as high-risk nations. The announcement that the EU flags four countries as High-Risk Under the Deforestation Law signals that imports from these nations are subject to the most stringent compliance inspections. Businesses must prove that their products were not acquired from deforested areas after 2020 and provide verifiable information about the location and timing of their production. The rates of compliance checks are 1% for low-risk nations, 3% for standard-risk countries, and 9% for high-risk ones. In an EU member state, noncompliance may result in fines of up to 4% of the company’s revenue.

Major forested countries like Brazil and Indonesia are categorized as “standard risk” and will not be subject to the same level of scrutiny, despite their historically high deforestation rates. As a “low-risk” country, the US will be subject to the laxest regulations.

Criticism Over Benchmarking Methodology

The EUDR’s country benchmarking procedure has drawn criticism from environmental organizations. Mighty Earth called the designation “a farce,” claiming that important nations with high deforestation rates were left out of the high-risk group. According to policy director Julian Oram, the risk benchmarking was intended to represent the probability that goods like cattle, soy, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, and lumber entering the EU came from newly deforested or illegally produced regions. Instead, he contended that the risk list that was made public demonstrates that it was founded on political favoritism and horse-trading.

Concerns were also expressed by Earthsight, which said that the creation of a new “no risk” category made it possible for many nations to be deemed risk-free, even when unlawful activities, deforestation, and degradation are still taking place. They contended that the revisions expose a risky gap that would allow goods made in high-risk nations to be laundered via those with low risk. Such criticism raises further concerns about the credibility and consistency of the classification, particularly because the EU flags four countries as high-risk under the Deforestation Law. At the same time, other major deforesters are categorized differently.

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Implementation Timeline and Future Reviews

The EUDR went into effect on June 29, 2023. Micro and small businesses must comply by June 30, 2026, whereas large and medium-sized companies must do so by December 30, 2025. The first country benchmarking review is planned for 2026, although the categorization might change.

The legislation ensures that goods marketed in the EU haven’t contributed to forest degradation or deforestation. It covers essential commodities, including soy, cattle, timber, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, and allied goods like furniture, leather, and chocolate. Businesses must prove that their products were not acquired from deforested areas after 2020 and provide verifiable information about the location and timing of their production.

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