Brazil criticizes anti-deforestation regulation approved by European Parliament

The government of the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, did not see with good eyes the position adopted by the European Parliament so that products that promote deforestation are not sold on that continent, according to a brief statement released on Wednesday, September 14, by the Brazilian Foreign Ministry.

“Itamaraty (Brazilian Foreign Ministry) has been closely following the evolution of legislative initiatives that, under the pretext of combating deforestation, establish requirements for the import of agricultural commodities by the European Union,” said the note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Brazilian government’s statement comes after the European Parliament defended new legislation for companies to verify that agricultural products sold in the European Union do not originate from deforested or degraded land.

With 453 votes in favor, 57 against, and 123 abstentions, the European Parliament set its position for the next negotiation with the countries of the European Union, which will begin in October.

The resolution approved by the European Parliament includes among the products that will have to be regulated palm oil, beef, soy, coffee, cocoa, and wood and some of its derivative products such as leather, but the Parliament wants other products to enter the list.

For this reason, it will urge that chicken, pork, sheep meat, goat meat, corn, rubber, charcoal, and printed paper products be included.

According to the European Parliament, the new regulation seeks to “guarantee consumers that the products they buy do not contribute to the destruction of forests.”

Although it was not directly mentioned in the statement, the Brazilian government’s statement is due to the implications that Parliament’s decision may have if the issue is approved in the negotiations between the European Commission, European Parliament, and Council of the EU that start in October.

Brazil is one of the largest food exporters in the world, and if this legislation is approved, experts say that sales abroad would be affected.

Agribusiness is one of the causes of the high rates of deforestation in the country.

Brazil lost 16,557 square kilometers of native vegetation in its biomes last year, an increase of 20% compared to 2020, primarily due to illegal logging. The most affected was the Amazon, according to data from the Mapbiomas network.

With information from EFE