Brazil’s Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Carlos Fávaro criticized the European Union’s anti-deforestation law, which bans the import of products linked to recently deforested land. This is the first response from Brazil since the European Council suggested postponing implementation of the regulation until December 2025.
The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requires companies to prove that products, such as beef and soy, are not tied to land that has been deforested since Dec. 31, 2020. The rule applies equally to land that has been deforested legally and illegally, in effect superseding national laws.
“We don’t want to sacrifice our forests for economic growth, but Europe is overstepping on Brazilian sovereignty, and we aren’t going to agree with this. That’s why we are acting against this approved law,” Fávaro said at the Bloomberg New Economy at B20 business event in São Paulo on Oct 23.
The EU argues that the law is key to curbing global deforestation and the worst outcomes of the climate crisis. The regulation has been received with pushback from its main trading partners, including the U.S., China and India.
“We will respond to protectionism that is being imposed on us by widening the scope of our trading partners,” Fávaro said. He added that Brazil will push back by increasing trade with other global markets.
In March 2024, China approved imports from an additional 38 Brazilian meat processing plants, bringing the total to 144. Fávaro said Brazil is currently negotiating approval for additional beef exports to China from another 10-15 slaughterhouses.
The minister stated that the beef sector would be 100% traceable by 2032 via a platform he said would be fully operational in 2027, a full two years after the EUDR’s new rules are set to take effect.
“We are not running away from our responsibility,” he said. “It’s legitimate that people want to know the origin and how the animal that was slaughtered was reared for the consumer to buy.”
Mongabay reached out to Brazil’s agriculture ministry by email for clarification, but it did not provide further information on what it considers complete traceability.
Brazil’s compliance system may never fully meet the EUDR’s current requirements, as the nation still intends to allow for legal deforestation and may risk losing partial or full market access to Europe.
Europe is still the dominant market for soybean meal, which also falls under the EUDR, absorbing 56% of Brazil’s exports. But beef exports from Brazil to the European Union and the United Kingdom fell from 12% of exports in 2014 to 7% in 2024, considering partial annual data.
Meanwhile, in the first half of 2024, beef exports to China grew 10%, United States imports increased by 58%, and exports to smaller countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Mexico and Turkey are on the rise.
Banner image: Brazil’s agriculture minister speaks at Bloomberg New Economy at B20 on Oct. 23. Image courtesy of Brazil’s federal government.
