WTO implications of the proposed “no risk” amendment to the EUDR
2 décembre 2024
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which entered into force in June 2023, has undergone sustained political attacks since the start of 2024, leading the European Commission to propose delaying its application by 12 months.
This was approved by the European Council and Parliament, but the latter also introduced new amendments that attempt to hollow out the law and render it ineffective.
The most notable ones relate to introducing a new “no-risk” rating that would constitute a much less strict regime than the current risk rating, and would exempt operators from exercising due diligence for products from “no risk” countries.
Ahead of critical negotiations and votes that will decide EU’s groundbreaking law’s fate, Fern commissioned Tulip, a specialist law consultancy to assess the compatibility of the “no-risk” amendments with World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.
They found that a new “no-risk” category that would strip operators from key EUDR obligations would likely fall foul of the WTO, violating “key non-discrimination provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT 1994)”.
Catégories: Reports, EU Regulation on deforestation-free products
