NGO Exec Pushes Forest Act at Senate Finance Committee Hearing

A witness representing a nongovernmental organization focused on the environment called on the Senate Finance Committee to take up legislation that would ban imports of products that are made on illegally deforested land, including in the Amazon rainforest, at a committee hearing on cattle supply chains and Amazon deforestation June 22.

Rick Jacobsen of the Environmental Investigation Agency US said "the pragmatic and effective measures proposed in the" Fostering Overseas Rule of Law and Environmentally Sound Trade (Forest) Act "would represent a critical step forward in fighting corruption and environmental crime abroad while reducing our footprint on the world’s forests," in his written testimony at the hearing. The bill was introduced in the last Congress (see 2110070050), but has yet to be introduced in this one.

The Forest Act would prohibit products containing "certain agricultural commodities produced on illegally deforested land" from entering the U.S., require companies to report on "risk-based due diligence" including supply chain traceability, on imports of key agricultural products entering the U.S., increase support for countries taking "meaningful steps to improve governance and reduce deforestation," strengthen tools to fight deforestation and "financial crime," and establish a "federal government procurement preference for zero-deforestation products," Jacobsen said in his testimony.

More transparency in the supply chain can help lead to "a resilient and sustainable supply of goods," and provide "assurances to American businesses, investors and consumers that goods entering the U.S. market are produced legally and in ways that align with our values and national security interests," he said.

The Forest Act has previously been mentioned as a potential solution as part of two reports written by the State Department on May 31 (see 2306010030). In those reports, the Forest Act and trade agreements were seen as part of a whole solution to end deforestation, but that either path could result in unintended consequences. Additionally, both paths will have to contend with political sensitivities in the targeted countries and logistical challenges of identifying products from deforested land and enforcing a ban on their entry.

Dr. Ryan Berg, the director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, while not directly speaking on the Forest Act, had a similar approach to the report given by the State Department, and did not tout one bill or strategy. In his testimony, Berg focused on prioritizing a "cooperative approach over a punitive" approach, stressing that a punitive approach would "contribute to a deterioration in bilateral relations and decrease United States and European Union influence in Brazil -- all while strengthening China’s hand."

During the hearing, Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., also discussed the issue of Guide of Animal Transport, or GTAs. GTAs are used by the Brazilian Government to track the origin of cattle within Brazil. The Brazilian government recently restricted public access to GTAs. "The U.S. government, and particularly the U.S. trade representative, must work to open those records back up," Wyden said.

JBS, one of the major cattle producers in Brazil, made promises throughout the hearing about their commitment to fight against deforestation, with JBS Global Chief Sustainability Office Jason Weller referring to their policy as a "zero-tolerance deforestation sourcing policy," in his opening testimony.

Wyden asked Weller whether or not JBS would use "its considerable influence " to support "making public records that already exist and that will show whether or not JBS lives up to its promises." Weller responded with a yes.