Deforestation Regulation

Dear Member,
With reference to the letter sent to our Chamber by TOBB, the letter of the Ministry of Trade forwarded to our Union states that a proposal to postpone the application date of the Deforestation Regulation, which entered into force upon publication in the Official Journal of the EU dated 9 June 2023, has been
submitted to the EU Council and the European Parliament (EP).

With the said Regulation, as of 30 December 2024, a due diligence declaration that they do not cause deforestation and have been produced in compliance with legal legislation has been made mandatory for the entry into the EU market of soy, beef, palm oil, wood/timber products, cocoa, rubber, coffee and products such as chocolate, furniture and tyres that use certain products derived from them as inputs in production.

If the postponement proposal is accepted, large companies are expected to be subject to the obligations under the legislation as of 30 December 2025 and SMEs as of 30 June 2026. The proposal to postpone the application of the Regulation is expected to be approved by the Council and the EP by the end of the year.

The Commission statement conveyed by the Ministry also states that;

• The published guidance documents include details on the functions of the Information System, updates on penalties and explanations of critical definitions such as 'forest degradation', 'operator' and 'placing on the market' within the scope of the law, as well as explanations on traceability obligations,
• The methods of the practice of rating countries as high, standard and low are explained, most countries fall into the low-risk category, and the Commission will intensify its consultations with the aim of completing the rating system by 30 July 2025,
• A strategic framework on international cooperation has been prepared under the Regulation, and in this context, various implementation tools such as providing support to smallholders, dialogue and a financing mechanism have been identified,
• The Information System, in which businesses will register their due diligence declarations, will accept registrations from the beginning of November and will become fully operational in December.

The Ministry's letter, a detailed information note on the legislation and the documents published by the European Commission are in the annex.

Annex: Deforestation Regulation

Kind regards,
Elazığ Chamber of Commerce and Industry