FLA Responds to EUDR Delay: A Necessary Pause on a Fundamentally Unworkable Regulation

The Forest Landowners Association (FLA) considers the European Parliament’s decision to delay implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) an important signal. While this delay is welcome news, it further confirms that the EUDR is an unworkable regulation that infringes on private property rights and creates unnecessary barriers to the European Union’s market for U.S. Forest landowners.

The regulation’s broad trade restrictions and prescriptive requirements disproportionately burden private forest landowners in countries like the United States, where a majority of the forests are managed by multi-generational family businesses using best management practices. Continued delays highlight that the EUDR cannot be implemented without disrupting lawful trade, discouraging investment in forest health and resilience, and harming both landowners and consumers.

In addition to its impacts on U.S. landowners, the EUDR will harm European consumers and end users by restricting access to sustainable forest products produced in the United States. This will lead to higher costs and reduced supply for European manufacturers, builders, and businesses that rely on a strong forest products sector.

FLA continues to oppose the EUDR in its current form. The regulation conflicts with the U.S.-EU Trade Agreement Framework, which recognizes that U.S. forests do not contribute to global deforestation. Rather than advancing sustainability, the EUDR threatens rural American communities, family forestry businesses, and industries that depend on a strong wood products market and the healthy, resilient forests that fuel it.

The Forest Landowners Association calls on the Trump Administration and Congress to oppose the EUDR in all discussions with European counterparts and to defend private property rights and market access for sustainable American forest products.