WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) welcomes the European Union’s agreement to delay implementation of its Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR) and calls for meaningful simplifications for countries posing a low risk for deforestation.
An additional one-year delay allows the time necessary for the European Commission to conduct a thoughtful review of the law and bring forward additional simplification proposals by April 2026. EU policymakers now have an opportunity to ensure that the EUDR is implemented as it was originally intended: to combat deforestation without disrupting the trade of sustainably produced forest products from trusted partners like the United States.
The simplification proposals approved today are an important acknowledgement of critical issues with the law, including a disproportionate burden on small landowners and operators. Unfortunately, these simplifications limit relief only to those based in the EU. Further legislative amendments are urgently needed to provide equitable treatment for low-risk countries outside of the EU, like the United States, where landowners manage their forests to some of the highest sustainability standards in the world.
“Today’s delay is welcome news, but the simplifications passed today only help landowners and operators within the European Union,” said NAFO President & CEO Dave Tenny. “The job isn’t done. The Commission must deliver meaningful simplifications for all low-risk countries outside the EU and ensure fair and equitable treatment. A law focused on preventing deforestation must, first and foremost, reward forest owners already investing heavily in long-term sustainability.”
Simplification must address at least two major challenges faced by operators in low-risk countries:
- Geolocation and data-sharing requirements are unnecessarily burdensome, especially to smaller landowners, and need to be simplified to align with how forest product value chains operate in practice.
- Language on forest degradation is unclear, does not align with the position of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and does not adequately reflect well-established sustainable forest management practiced across the United States.
If left unaddressed, these shortcomings penalize small landowners, distort trade, and undermine the Regulation’s environmental objectives.
NAFO remains committed to the shared goal of reducing global deforestation and promoting sustainable forest products. We urge the European Commission, and their colleagues in the European Parliament and the European Council, to take meaningful steps to ensure the EUDR achieves its purpose without penalizing sustainable producers and supply chains in low-risk countries.
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The National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) is a U.S. advocacy organization committed to advancing policies that ensure our working forests provide clean air, clean water, wildlife habitat and jobs through sustainable practices and strong markets. NAFO members own and sustainably manage more than 43 million acres (18 million hectares) of private working forests – an area twice the size of Portugal. These forests are managed to provide a steady supply of timber. NAFO’s membership also includes state and national associations representing tens of millions of additional acres. Private working forests in the U.S. support 3.9 million jobs. Private working forests – which provide 90% of U.S. timber harvest for wood and fiber – also account for 80% of our total net forest carbon sequestration and nearly half of our forest carbon storage. Learn more at sixhalfdev.com/projects/nafo/.