17.04.2026
Earlier this year, ATIBT joined the EU Sustainable Supply Chains Coalition, a multi-stakeholder initiative bringing together companies and civil society organisations around a shared goal: advocating for stable and ambitious implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). A look at our engagement and what is at stake.
ATIBT co-signed the open letter from the EU Sustainable Supply Chains Coalition presented to European Commissioner for the Environment Jessika Roswall on April 14th. Alongside major companies — Danone, Nestlé, Ferrero, Unilever, Barry Callebaut, Tony's Chocolonely — and civil society organisations including the Rainforest Alliance and VOICE Cocoa Network, ATIBT is calling on the Commission not to reopen the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) at the conclusion of its April 2026 review.
Why this position?
Since the EUDR was adopted, many operators across the tropical timber sector — companies, trade associations, and producer country governments alike — have made substantial investments to meet the regulation's requirements: traceability systems, due diligence processes, plot-level geolocation. Countries such as Ghana have developed national traceability platforms specifically designed to align with EUDR requirements.
Reopening the text for a third time, before it has even come into application, would send a damaging signal: it would penalise those who have done the work, reward those who have waited, and permanently undermine the European Union's credibility as a reliable regulatory partner.
What ATIBT is advocating for
ATIBT's position does not mean the regulation is perfect as it stands. Indeed, particularly for European timber importers, this regulation must be clear and straightforward when it comes to its implementation.
Clarifications are still needed — on geolocation, composite products, the treatment of smallholders, and the interoperability of traceability systems. But these adjustments can and must be addressed through operational channels: updated FAQs and implementation guidance, finalisation of delegated acts, and the work of the Community of Practice currently being established.
What we oppose is a political renegotiation of the text which, in the current climate, could only weaken the regulation — to the detriment of forests, committed operators, and the communities that depend on them.
A growing coalition
The EU Sustainable Supply Chains Coalition, originally rooted in the cocoa sector, has expanded to cover all commodities under the EUDR, including tropical timber. ATIBT represents the voice of the tropical timber sector within this coalition, alongside actors who share the conviction that competitiveness and sustainability are not in opposition — they are two sides of the same requirement.
ATIBT will remain actively engaged in the coming weeks, as the Commission publishes the outcomes of its review and the first elements of the announced simplification package.
