Toblerone owner Mondelez courts Trump’s man in Brussels to weaken EU deforestation law

Global Witness reports that Mondelez has shifted from supporting the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) to actively lobbying for its weakening and delay. The company has engaged with US Ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder, joined the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU, and targeted conservative MEPs and government officials in France, Germany, Ireland, and Luxembourg. This lobbying occurs despite Mondelez's lack of transparency regarding its deforestation-free cocoa supply and its links to forest destruction in West Africa.

• Mondelez CEO Dick Van de Put met with US Ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder in June 2026 to discuss the EUDR, which Puzder described as a "non -tariff trade barrier" that adds "significant compliance burdens and administrative costs across supply chains."
• The company has implemented a pan-European lobbying strategy, meeting with Brussels powerbrokers every other month since July 2025 and targeting governments in Luxembourg, Ireland, Germany, and France.
• Mondelez joined the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU (AmChamEU) in June 2025, using its board position to meet with top US diplomats, including the US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.
• In the EU Parliament, Mondelez targeted conservative MEPs from the European People’s Party (EPP), including Norbert Lins and Christine Schneider, in March 2026.
• Mondelez is the only major chocolate company analyzed that does not disclose the percentage of its cocoa supply that is deforestation-free and rejected a shareholder proposal in March 2025 for a full no deforestation policy.
• The company's lobbying in Germany included writing to Bundestag members in September 2025 to request an EUDR delay and hiring the firm Fuchs & Cie. to organize discussions with the German Federal Government.
• Analysis of cocoa production between 2000-2020 indicates that it caused approximately 2.2 million hectares of deforestation in the Upper Guinean Rainforest and Congo Basin, with Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana as the primary drivers.

APA

Global Witness (2026). Toblerone owner Mondelez courts Trump’s man in Brussels to weaken EU deforestation law. https://globalwitness.org/documents/1044/2609_-_Global_Witness_-_Mondelez_EUDR_Lobbying_-_Embargoed.pdf

Chicago

Global Witness. Toblerone owner Mondelez courts Trump’s man in Brussels to weaken EU deforestation law. 2026. https://globalwitness.org/documents/1044/2609_-_Global_Witness_-_Mondelez_EUDR_Lobbying_-_Embargoed.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Witness |title=Toblerone owner Mondelez courts Trump’s man in Brussels to weaken EU deforestation law |date=8 September 2026 |url=https://globalwitness.org/documents/1044/2609_-_Global_Witness_-_Mondelez_EUDR_Lobbying_-_Embargoed.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalwitness2026toblerone, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{Toblerone owner Mondelez courts Trump’s man in Brussels to weaken EU deforestation law}}, institution = {Global Witness}, year = {2026}, month = sep, url = {https://globalwitness.org/documents/1044/2609_-_Global_Witness_-_Mondelez_EUDR_Lobbying_-_Embargoed.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }