The Brazilian government on Thursday said it could not interfere with a landmark EU law banning imports of commodities linked to deforestation, but plans to keep farming according to its own laws.
The law approved by the European Parliament on April 19 bans imports of coffee, beef, soy, palm oil, cocoa, rubber, wood and charcoal if they are linked to forest destruction, including deforestation-derived products such as leather, chocolate and furniture.
Surging deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has raised concerns in Europe in recent years and generated resistance in European legislatures to trade with the South American country.
Photo: AFP
Brazil’s agribusiness sector has said the country — which as a major soy, coffee and beef producer is one of the world’s largest food suppliers — already regulates deforestation under its forest code, which allows some areas to be cleared.
“Brazil cannot interfere in a decision taken by the European Union on products linked to deforestation. We will continue to act in accordance with Brazilian legislation,” Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply Carlos Favaro told reporters.
Former Brazilian agriculture minister Roberto Rodriguez said the law amounts to a non-tariff trade barrier, calling it “exaggerated protectionism.”
He said the world needs to act to preserve the environment, but the EU was ignoring the laws of other nations and punishing producers who have complied with their own laws.
“This will not preserve anything in Brazil, it is a purely commercial measure,” Rodrigues said. “If preservation of the environment is so important, set up a mechanism to finance it instead of punishing those who did nothing illegal.”
The law, which has not yet been formally endorsed by the European Council, would require companies that sell goods into the EU to produce a due diligence statement and “verifiable” information proving that their goods were not grown on land deforested after 2020, or risk hefty fines.
The EU is the world’s third-largest palm oil importer. Indonesia and Malaysia — the world’s largest exporters — have accused it of blocking access to their products.
The Philippines yesterday said its coast guard would acquire 40 fast patrol craft from France, with plans to deploy some of them in disputed areas of the South China Sea. The deal is the “largest so far single purchase” in Manila’s ongoing effort to modernize its coast guard, with deliveries set to start in four years, Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan told a news conference. He declined to provide specifications for the vessels, which Manila said would cost 25.8 billion pesos (US$440 million), to be funded by development aid from the French government. He said some of the vessels would
Hundreds of thousands of Guyana citizens living at home and abroad would receive a payout of about US$478 each after the country announced it was distributing its “mind-boggling” oil wealth. The grant of 100,000 Guyanese dollars would be available to any citizen of the South American country aged 18 and older with a valid passport or identification card. Guyanese citizens who normally live abroad would be eligible, but must be in Guyana to collect the payment. The payout was originally planned as a 200,000 Guyanese dollar grant for each household in the country, but was reframed after concerns that some citizens, including
A plane bringing Israeli soccer supporters home from Amsterdam landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport on Friday after a night of violence that Israeli and Dutch officials condemned as “anti-Semitic.” Dutch police said 62 arrests were made in connection with the violence, which erupted after a UEFA Europa League soccer tie between Amsterdam club Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Israeli flag carrier El Al said it was sending six planes to the Netherlands to bring the fans home, after the first flight carrying evacuees landed on Friday afternoon, the Israeli Airports Authority said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered
Former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi said if US President Joe Biden had ended his re-election bid sooner, the Democratic Party could have held a competitive nominating process to choose his replacement. “Had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race,” Pelosi said in an interview on Thursday published by the New York Times the next day. “The anticipation was that, if the president were to step aside, that there would be an open primary,” she said. Pelosi said she thought the Democratic candidate, US Vice President Kamala Harris, “would have done