The U.S. government is increasingly pressing Germany and the EU to allow a special‑rule for the United States in the anti‑deforestation regulation (EUDR). According to the industry‑analysis service Tagesspiegel Background, a meeting is taking place today between representatives of the Trump administration and several German federal ministries, including the Ministry for Economic Affairs.
Sources familiar with the talks say that the U.S. aims to obtain a practical exemption for its companies from the EUDR’s documentation requirements. The same sources claim that U.S. officials have threatened to jeopardise the planned trade agreement with the EU if Washington does not receive a preferred ranking in the regulation’s country‑benchmarking scheme. The push for a zero‑risk category had already been dropped in Brussels.
Back in Brussels, worries are growing about political interference and the potential dilution of the law. Green Party member of the European Parliament Anna Cavazzini has called this interference “unprecedented”. The debate is expected to also enter the agenda of the European Council next week.
