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<\/p>\nJakarta – The anti-deforestation law launched by the European Union (EU) has sparked concerns not only in Indonesia but also among American lawmakers, according to Economic Coordinating Minister Airlangga Hartarto.<\/p>\n
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The EU\u2019s deforestation-free regulation, also known as the EUDR, mandates operators or traders to prove their products do not come from deforested land. They must include precise geolocation coordinates in their due diligence statements before the goods can enter the EU’s market. Commodities that are subject to the EUDR include palm oil, timber, cocoa, soy, rubber, and coffee, as well as their derived products.<\/p>\n
The rules, which will start to apply on Dec. 30, have ruffled the feathers of the world\u2019s largest palm oil producers Indonesia and Malaysia. The close neighbours sent a joint mission to the European bloc\u2019s capital Brussels last May. The mission ended with the establishment of an ad hoc task force between Indonesia, Malaysia, and the EU to identify the practical solutions to the policy. Airlangga claimed what Indonesia and Malaysia had done inspired other countries –including the US– to raise objections to the EUDR.<\/p>\n
\u201cA bipartisan group [of lawmakers] in the US have spoken against the EUDR. So [the fight against] EUDR which Indonesia initiated during its joint mission with Malaysia, continues to secure support from like-minded countries,\u201d Airlangga was quoted as saying in a recent press statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot long ago, [lawmakers] from the American Republican and Democratic parties were questioning the EUDR. So like-minded countries are inspired by what Indonesia and Malaysia have done,\u201d Airlangga said.<\/p>\n
Last September, a bipartisan group of American lawmakers, including Republican Michelle Steel and Democrat lawmaker Terri Sewell, wrote a letter to US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, urging her to engage with European leaders. The letter claimed that the US \u201cdoes not have any deforestation problems\u201d, arguing that the EUDR should have focused on \u201ccountries in which illegal deforestation is occurring\u201d.<\/p>\n
US senators\u00a0Marsha Blackburn and Angus King, among others, also penned a similar letter to Tai in March, expressing serious concerns about the EUDR\u2019s potential effects on their country\u2019s pulp and paper industry. A copy of the letter says that the EUDR will impose \u201ccostly requirements on US exporters that will limit market access for the $3.5 billion in US forest-derived products entering the EU annually\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a separate letter, also directed to Tai, American senator Josh Hawley said that the policy would be detrimental to Missouri\u2019s soybean farmers.<\/p>\n
It is not just American politicians who are anxious about the EUDR. Brazilian Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro has called the EUDR as \u201can affront\u201d of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. Brazil, alongside Indonesia and 15 other countries, also sent a joint letter to the EU\u2019s top brass, even arguing that the EUDR has established \u201can inherently discriminatory and punitive unilateral benchmarking system that is potentially inconsistent with WTO obligations\u201d. Other countries signing this letter include Thailand, Argentina, Ghana, to name a few.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Indonesia\u2019s Deputy Minister of Trade Jerry Sambuaga has also stated that Indonesia gets support from the US government and lawmakers regarding its protest against the EUDR.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe EU policy harms our six products in plantation and forestry sectors, which include palm oil, coffee, cocoa, rubber and woods,\u201d Deputy Minister Jerry said after accompanying Minister Airlangga Hartarto during a meeting with German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, who is also minister of economy and climate action, in Berlin, on Monday (06\/05 2024).<\/p>\n
According to Jerry, \u00a0during the meeting of Agriculture Fisheries Council Configuration (AGRIFISH), 20 of 27 countries, including Germany, also called for the delay of EUDR.<\/p>\n
Jerry said during bilateral meeting of \u00a0Indonesia-Germany, Indonesia called for acceleration of the negotiations of Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA).<\/p>\n
“Indonesia has called on Germany to persuade the EU negotiators to be more flexible in reaching common agreement. Germany is the largest economy in EU, while Indonesia the largest economy in ASEAN. Indonesia is ready to cooperate with Germany and other member countries of OECD in implementing the joint work program of OECD-Indonesia 2022\u20142025,\u201d he said. (*)<\/p>\n