Risk classification assigned to Brazil under the European anti-deforestation law

The Government of Brazil notes with concern the publication by the European Commission, on 22 May, of the country risk classification (“benchmarking”) envisaged in the European anti-deforestation law. Brazil was placed in the “medium-risk” category associated with deforestation.

The Government of Brazil reiterates its critical stance on the European anti-deforestation law. Scheduled to take effect on 30 December 2025, the legislation is a unilateral and discriminatory measure that disregards national and multilateral efforts to conserve forest areas and tackle climate change. It imposes a significant and disproportionate burden on countries such as Brazil, whose tropical agriculture is conducted responsibly and sustainably, with even greater impacts on smaller-scale producers.

With regard to the risk-classification process itself, the law relies on discretionary criteria for both the quantitative and qualitative assessment of countries, based on a retroactive time frame (2015–2020). It is particularly incongruous that the vast majority of nations that still maintain and preserve the largest tracts of native tropical forest have been assigned a higher risk category than countries engaged in temperate-climate agriculture.

The list, methodology and data sources published will be examined in detail by the Government of Brazil. Brazil will continue to urge EU authorities to prioritise dialogue and cooperation, through coordination with, and consultation of, countries on the specificities of their productive systems, in order to mitigate the negative consequences of implementing the anti-deforestation law and to reduce its current and future impact on Brazilian producers and exporters.