The proposed EU law on deforestation-free products

The European Commission's proposed regulation aims to minimize the EU's impact on global forests by establishing a 'deforestation-free' standard for cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, soya, and wood. The framework relies on mandatory supply chain due diligence, requiring full traceability to the point of production via geolocation coordinates. While it improves upon the EU Timber Regulation by introducing objective science-based standards and stronger penalties (up to 4% of annual turnover), it contains a 'simplified due diligence' loophole for low-risk countries. ClientEarth identifies critical gaps compared to the European Parliament's 2020 INL Report, specifically the lack of mandatory human rights protections, the exclusion of non-forest ecosystems like peatlands, the omission of the financial sector, and the absence of civil liability for victims of deforestation.

• The proposal introduces a mandatory supply chain due diligence mechanism requiring full traceability to the point of production, including the collection of geolocation coordinates for land parcels and production dates to allow for satellite imagery verification.
• The regulation establishes a 'deforestation-free' standard for products linked to deforestation occurring after 31 December 2020, regardless of whether that deforestation was legal under the laws of the producing country.
• A 'simplified due diligence' loophole allows operators to skip the risk assessment phase for products from 'low risk' countries or sub-national areas, which the document argues may overlook specific supply chain risks and risks of illegality.
• The scope of the regulation is limited to six primary commodities—cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, soya, and wood—and a narrow list of derived products identified by HS Codes, excluding rubber and maize.
• The proposal lacks mandatory requirements for human rights, the protection of non-forest ecosystems (such as savannahs and peatlands), and the inclusion of the financial sector, diverging from the more ambitious European Parliament INL Report.
• There is no mechanism for access to justice or civil liability for victims of deforestation and human rights violations linked to EU supply chains, meaning affected parties cannot hold EU companies directly accountable in court.
• Enforcement is strengthened compared to the EU Timber Regulation, with penalties for non-compliance set at a minimum floor of 4% of the responsible operator's annual turnover in the relevant Member State.

APA

Rice, M., & Blumtritt, K. (2021). The proposed EU law on deforestation-free products. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/sbjhtw3c/eu-deforestation-proposal_main-elements-and-omissions_dec21.pdf

Chicago

Rice, Michael, and Kaja Blumtritt. The proposed EU law on deforestation-free products. ClientEarth, 2021. https://www.clientearth.org/media/sbjhtw3c/eu-deforestation-proposal_main-elements-and-omissions_dec21.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rice |first1=Michael |last2=Blumtritt |first2=Kaja |title=The proposed EU law on deforestation-free products |publisher=ClientEarth |date=December 2021 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/sbjhtw3c/eu-deforestation-proposal_main-elements-and-omissions_dec21.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rice2021proposed, author = {Rice, Michael and Blumtritt, Kaja}, title = {{The proposed EU law on deforestation-free products}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2021}, month = dec, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/sbjhtw3c/eu-deforestation-proposal_main-elements-and-omissions_dec21.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }