As EUDR Implementation Approaches, International Pressure and Indonesia's Efforts to Delay the European Union's Deforestation Regulation

Jakarta, INTI - As the end of 2024 approaches, the European Union (EU) is set to implement the European Union Deforestation-Free Regulation (EUDR), which could have significant global trade implications. In response to this regulation, Indonesia has actively voiced its concerns and collaborated with like-minded countries to address the EUDR, including issuing joint letters to EU leaders.

International Response to EUDR

The United States (US) has joined the ranks of countries critical of the EUDR. On May 30, 2024, the US government sent a letter to EVP Maros Sefcovic, signed by Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai. The letter emphasized that if implemented as scheduled at the end of this year, the EUDR would have negative economic impacts on producers and consumers both in the US and the EU. The US government urged the European Commission to delay the EUDR's implementation.

"America is bipartisan in its opposition to EUDR, so the Joint Task Force (JTF) EUDR initiated by Indonesia during the joint visit of the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs and the Malaysian Prime Minister last year continues to receive support from like-minded countries. Recently, both Republican and Democrat parties in the US have questioned the EUDR. Therefore, LMC is inspired by the actions of Indonesia and Malaysia," said Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, in a press conference in Jakarta.

Challenges and Calls for Delay

The US letter identifies four key challenges for US commodity producers in understanding and adapting to the EUDR: lack of adequate information systems, absence of guidelines from the European Commission, failure to appoint competent national authorities to oversee the EUDR, and provisional country benchmarking that categorizes all producer countries as high-risk regardless of their forestry practices. Some producer countries, like the US, which view their forestry practices as advanced and well-managed, believe that being categorized as high-risk is detrimental.

This letter follows a previous communication from US senators to USTR Katherine Tai on March 8, 2024, which estimated that the EUDR could restrict US forestry product market access to the EU by up to USD3.5 billion annually. The letter specifically calls for fair treatment of the US pulp and paper industry under the EUDR, as this sector employs approximately 920,000 people directly and around 2 million indirectly.

The US government has requested the European Union (EU) to delay the EUDR implementation. This call has resonated within the EU itself, notably from Pieter Liese, a member of the European Parliament from the European People's Party (EPP), which is the party with the most seats from the June 2024 European Parliament elections. On June 27, 2024, Liese, who is also the Head of Environmental Policy for the EPP, urged a two-year delay in implementing the EUDR. Liese believes that the European Commission will adopt this policy due to the pressure from the US government and similar calls from within the EU.

The inclusion of the US in the group advocating for the delay of the EUDR is expected to exert significant pressure on the European Commission to postpone the regulation. In addition to like-minded countries (LMC) and the US, other EU member states such as Austria have criticized the EUDR, arguing that the deforestation law could negatively impact small-scale and sustainable farming and forestry practices in the EU. They support calls for important actions to exempt smallholders and delay the EUDR implementation.

Indonesia's Efforts and Economic Coordinating Minister's Decision

In response to the EUDR, the Indonesian Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs has issued Decree No. 178 of 2024 concerning the Steering Committee for the National Dashboard of Sustainable Commodities Data and Information in Indonesia. The national dashboard is part of Indonesia's efforts to prepare for the EUDR, with a target completion date of August 2024. The dashboard will be launched alongside the third JTF meeting scheduled for September 2024 in Brussels or Rotterdam, and the "Sustainable Vegetable Oil Conference" initiated by Indonesia.

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