The European Parliament this week voted to delay implementation of a deforestation regulation- which was scheduled to go into effect on December 30th- 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. U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Vice President of Economic Analysis Erin Borror said the EU systems are still not ready for implementation.
Borror said deforestation is not a concern for U.S. beef, yet U.S. producers are faced with burdensome and unnecessary paperwork.
The one-year delay offers limited time to not only iron out systems for implementation, but to also push for key changes to the rule, including a “no risk” designation for trading partner countries where forests are not cleared for production. For more information, visit usmef.org.
