Senators Ask USTR to Advocate for US Forestry With EU

More than a quarter of the U.S. Senate asked the U.S. trade representative to push back against the EU Deforestation-Free Regulation, saying the approach presents "significant compliance issues due to its stringency and ambiguity. One specific concern is the traceability requirement. The EUDR imposes a geolocation traceability requirement that mandates sourcing to the individual plot of land for every shipment of timber product to the EU. In the U.S., 42 percent of the wood fiber used by pulp and paper mills comes from wood chips, forest residuals, and sawmill manufacturing residues -- wood sources that cannot be traced back to an individual forest plot."

The letter, announced March 18 by lead signatories Sen. Angus King, an Independent from Maine, and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said American exporters of printer paper, packaging, diapers and toilet paper could lose their access to EU customers in 2025, when importers have to comply. They said $3.5 billion worth of products made from wood is exported to the EU annually, 1% of U.S. production.

"Additionally, the EUDR imposes a concerning requirement that for all timber and timber-derived products entering the EU, the originating landowners be identified and their contact information be made available. This requirement risks disclosure of confidential information between business partners and could disrupt long-standing landowner-producer relationships. Additionally, it is concerning that the regulation does not identify who would have access to this proprietary data or how the data would be used for enforcement," they wrote.

They noted that the amount of land that is forested in the U.S. is growing, and argued that regulators should focus on countries where deforestation is a concern. "As USTR continues to engage with European regulators, we urge the agency to seek clarity on the EUDR’s traceability requirements, data reporting, and country benchmarking. We ask that USTR encourage the EU to recognize that the United States has robust regulatory standards to protect the long-term health of U.S. forests," they wrote.

Twenty-seven senators signed the letter.