The European Parliament voted to delay implementation of a deforestation regulation for a year, providing a reprieve for U.S. cattlemen.
The rule will require imports of beef and other goods to include documentation showing they did not come from areas impacted by deforestation. In the case of beef, that includes geolocation data of where the cattle were raised. The new regulation had been scheduled to take effect on December 30. Erin Borror, vice president of economic analysis with the U.S. Meat Export Federation, says deforestation is not a concern for U.S. beef, yet America’s producers are faced with burdensome and unnecessary paperwork, even though the EU systems are still not ready for implementation.
The one-year delay offers limited time to not only iron out systems for the implementation, but to also push for key changes to the rule, including a “no-risk” designation for trading partners where forests are not cleared for production.
