So, it’s finally official. After much to’ing and fro’ing betwixt European Commission, Parliament and Council, the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is being pushed back a year. It now won’t be enforced for large and medium sized operators and traders until December 30, 2026, and six months later for small and micro primary operators.
The EUDR is also being simplified, with the EC putting it through a further ‘simplification review’ by April 26, and its obligations won’t reach as far down the supply chain as first envisaged.
Environmental NGOs aren’t happy about it. But businesses and trade federations have breathed a sigh of relief as the so-called forest and eco-system risk commodity sectors (FERCS) affected, timber, soya, palm oil, beef/cattle, rubber, cocoa and coffee, have more time to prepare. The EU also has more time to iron out wrinkles in the EUDR information platform where companies will upload compliance data.
But what about the UK Forest Risk Commodity Regulation (FRCR)? Currently the timber sector is the only FERC targeted in the UK with its own specific rules to ensure products are legally sourced in the country of origin – the UK Timber Regulation.
This, some feel, reinforces misconceptions that the timber industry is a prime culprit when it comes to deforestation, especially of the rainforest, when in reality it’s driven by conversion to agriculture and agroforestry. The UK FRCR should ostensibly change that. It will cover cocoa, palm oil, soy and cattle products (excluding dairy), which are estimated to account for 64% of the UK’s ‘tropical deforestation footprint’.
Regulated businesses – and it will apply to those with global turnover of over £50 million – are subject to three core requirements:
- They are prohibited from using forest risk commodities produced on land illegally occupied or used
- They must implement a due diligence system for each regulated commodity
- And they must report annually on due diligence exercise.
The big question is when will the UK FRCR come into force. It was introduced in 2023 as part of the Environment Act. Enacting legislation was expected in May 2024 but then came the election.
The incoming Labour government affirmed its commitment to tackling deforestation. However, according to the Agricultural Industries Confederation, it has since ‘given little indication as to when it might find the necessary Parliamentary time to pass the legislation into law’.
When I asked Defra for an FRCR schedule it responded, ‘the Government is currently considering its approach to addressing the impact of the use of forest risk commodities in our supply chains and will set out its approach in due course’. So, no clearer.
In the summer of last year, the UK’s leading retailers urged the government to expedite introduction of the regulation.
They feared without it and with the EUDR in place there would be a risk of ‘trade friction’ in FERC exports and imports between the UK and EU.
But Timber Development UK Chief Executive David Hopkins told a recent ITTO newsletter he believes that, to facilitate trade, the UK government will wait until the final form of the EUDR is known and model the final shape of the FRCR accordingly. So, more wait and see.
