Brazil and other developing countries complain about “anti-deforestation law” in a letter to the European Union | world

At the end of June, an anti-deforestation law entered into force in the European Union, which could ban agricultural and animal products from areas deforested in 2021 from the markets of the bloc countries, and this law could harm the sale of items in which Brazil is strong, such as meat. Cows.

On Thursday (7), Brazil and 17 other developing countries sent a letter to European Union leaders protesting the Anti-Deforestation Law.

According to the Brazilian government, this European law has a “punitive and discriminatory” character compared to European regulations and has the potential to cause “trade disruptions and an excessive burden on producers of agricultural goods and their derivatives covered by this measure.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a statement that Brazil “maintains its firm commitment to combating deforestation and has strengthened inspection and conservation activities in Brazilian forests, especially in the Amazon region. From the Brazilian point of view, European law, in addition to being inconsistent with the principles governing international trade and understandings Multilateral issues on climate and biodiversity expose errors and imbalances in the economic, social and environmental aspects of the problem they aim to address, in a way that is inconsistent with effectively ensuring sustainable development.

‘Discriminatory and punitive’

According to the letter, European Union law ignores the circumstances and laws of each country, and that each country has its own methods for verifying whether production took place in a deforested area.

“Furthermore, it creates a unilateral risk assessment system that is inherently discriminatory and punitive, and may not be consistent with obligations to the World Trade Organization,” it said.

The letter calls for “a more meaningful and open dialogue with producing countries” and for the EU to make corrections to the law or “at least, seek to mitigate its most harmful effects through implementation guidelines that appropriately value local sustainable practices in agricultural value chains, whether Those already implemented or those in the development stage, avoiding trade disruptions, including excessive administrative burden related to geolocation and traceability requirements, certification and customs control.

The letter was signed by countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. Signatories include Argentina, Indonesia, Mexico and Nigeria.