Potential tensions surround the European Union's Anti-Deforestation Law: new directions for forest regulation?

By Paula Wojcikiewicz Almeida, Gabriel Ralile de Figueiredo Magalhães, Mariana de Brito Mariani, Lucas Lemos, Pedro Henrique Lavinas Ortman, and Bianca Martins.

The European Deforestation-Free Regulation (EUDR) represents one of the European Union's most ambitious environmental initiatives, aiming to curb global deforestation by requiring that products placed on the EU market be free from deforestation. Although the regulation entered into force in 2023, its obligations will become fully applicable in December 2026, following a one-year postponement.

Despite its environmental objectives, the EUDR has raised significant concerns regarding compliance costs, legal uncertainty, and implementation challenges, particularly for producer countries such as Brazil. Recent debates have intensified around proposals to simplify the regulation, including public consultations launched by the European Commission and discussions on further implementation adjustments.

Against this backdrop, researchers from the Center for Research in Global Law (CPDG) and the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence on EU–LA Global Challenges (CEJM) at FGV Direito Rio are examining the regulation's legal, economic, and institutional implications for Brazil. The project analyzes the EUDR's impacts through legal research, trade data analysis, and stakeholder interviews, while also exploring its interaction with other international governance instruments, including the EU–Mercosur Agreement and the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF).

As implementation approaches, understanding the evolving architecture of the EUDR and its broader regulatory ecosystem is essential for supporting informed policymaking and effective compliance strategies.

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