EU proposal to ban imports of deforested area is protectionism, says Brazilian chancellor

Foreign Minister Carlos França attacked the European Union for “trade protectionism” and “myopia” after the bloc proposed a ban on agricultural imports from deforested areas. It also attacked France for its agricultural subsidy policy.

Brussels this month proposed a law that would oblige companies that sell meat, soy, palm oil, coffee, cocoa and timber to the European bloc to prove that the raw materials were not produced on land that has been deforested or degraded (even if from legal form) after 2020.

Brazil is a major exporter of many of the targeted products, and the EU’s initiative has rekindled old tensions with the Jair Bolsonaro government, which sees ulterior motives behind the bloc’s proposal.

“What I can’t accept is using the environment as a form of trade protectionism. It’s bad for consumers [e] for trade flows,” France said in an interview with the Financial Times. “I think there is a certain myopia in the European Union.”

The proposed legislation was published shortly before new satellite data showed that the destruction of the Brazilian Amazon had reached its highest level in 15 years, raising new questions about the government’s commitment to protecting the world’s largest rainforest.

More than 13,200 square kilometers were devastated in the 12 months up to last July, an increase of 22% compared to the previous year, according to data from Inpe (National Institute for Space Research). It was the fastest deforestation rate in the Brazilian Amazon since 2006.

The numbers overshadowed the applause Brazil received for its efforts at COP26, the summit on climate change held this month in Glasgow, including a pledge to curb illegal deforestation by 2028 and a more ambitious target of zero net emissions by 2050.

França described the latest data on forest destruction as “surprising” but said the numbers “are not as bad as they seem” because there has been an improvement since July. Inpe data for August, September and October this year suggest a 28% reduction in the number of forest fires.

“There is no desire on the part of Brazil to hide the problem,” added the minister. “When there is illegal deforestation, it is often linked to other crimes, such as labor infractions, tax evasion and money laundering. We are treating this as a police matter, and it is paying off.”

Brazil prides itself on its technologically advanced and highly productive agricultural sector, and officials often point out that the vast majority of the country’s agricultural exports come from properly managed land in the south-central part of the country, not from illegally felled forest in the Amazon.
França highlighted in criticism the support given by the French state to its agricultural sector.

“I understand the French government’s internal political reasons for supporting its farmers. [agrícolas]. Because land and water are scarce resources, and operating them inefficiently is not sustainable.

“It is better to plant here in Brazil, where agriculture is increasingly technologically advanced, than to produce in France.”

The friction between Brazil and its European partners contributed to the impasse in the ratification of a trade agreement negotiated with great pains for 20 years between the EU and Mercosur.

Brussels is reluctant to move forward with ratification of the agreement because of strong opposition from some member countries, who believe Brazil in particular is not doing enough to fight deforestation.

France stated that the trade pact “is not moving forward”.

A low-key career diplomat who served stints in the United States, Bolivia and Paraguay, France was once chief of protocol at the presidential palace with Bolsonaro. He was named foreign minister in March, replacing Ernesto Araújo, an outspoken ideologue of the pocket movement known for his admiration for Donald Trump and rejection of “globalism,” and who has been accused of hostility toward China.

Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves