EU lawmakers support a ban of goods linked to deforestation

Members of the European Parliament have voted in favour of a proposal for a law that would ban the sale of agricultural products linked to the destruction of forests in the EU.

MEPs have voted to extend the list of agricultural goods covered by the EU law against imports linked to deforestation to include maize, poultry and pig meat. There was clear support for the proposal was first presented by the European Commission in November 2021, with 453 votes to 57 and 123 abstentions.

If the proposal passes to become a law, the EU will bar goods rated as such from commercialization in the EU. The new law would make it obligatory for companies to verify that goods sold in the 27 nations of the EU have not been produced on deforested or degraded land anywhere in the world. This would guarantee consumers that products and commodities imported into the EU are ‘deforestation-free’ – meaning that they do not contribute to deforestation anywhere along the value chain.

Read more on the vote in a press release from the European Parliament.