The Belém Declaration* reflects growing dissatisfaction with the European Union's new regulation, which prohibits companies from importing goods linked to deforestation.
In a joint declaration, Amazon basin countries have attacked the "expansion" of environmental regulations in trade, reflecting growing frustration with the new EU requirements regarding deforestation. The law, adopted by European governments in June, requires companies to prove that a range of products, including livestock, soy, and palm oil, have not been grown on deforested land.
The European Union points out that these rules are one of the key elements in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss. By contrast, some of the world's largest commodity producers have expressed increasing dissatisfaction, calling these measures "protectionist" and "discriminatory".
The latest expression of resistance is the Belém Declaration, which was signed on 8 August this year by eight South American countries following the Amazon Summit held in Brazil. The final document includes a rejection of the trade rules provided for by legislation adopted by the European Union.
The Amazon Summit held in the Brazilian city of Belém was attended by the presidents of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru, while Ecuador, Guyana, Venezuela, and Suriname were represented by other high-ranking state officials.
"Trade barriers" linked to environmental protection requirements
Although the Amazon basin countries failed to agree on a common goal to prevent deforestation, they did develop a unified policy and measures to strengthen regional cooperation.
In the summary document, European legislation is not specifically highlighted, but it does condemn "the proliferation of unilateral trade measures based on environmental requirements and norms that create barriers to trade."
Continuing, the document's signatories point out that such measures "will primarily affect smallholder farmers in developing countries, efforts for sustainable development, the promotion of the use of Amazon basin products, and efforts to eradicate poverty and combat hunger".
Marcio Astrini (Marcio Astrini) from Observatório do Clima called the inclusion of this point in the joint declaration "shameful". He told Climate Home News that if Brazil and Colombia were serious about ending deforestation, they should have vetoed this statement.
"What is wrong with a trading partner stating that it does not want to buy products linked to deforestation?" asks M. Astrini. "Environmental and climate issues are already part of business and market standards around the world; this is a new reality, and it is better to adapt to it."
Brazilian resistance
The condemnation of trade measures expressed in the declaration follows a week of heated rhetoric from high-ranking officials in the Amazon region countries.
Brazilian Minister of Agriculture Carlos Fávaro (Carlos Fávaro) condemned the European deforestation legislation, calling it an "insult" to global trade rules. He added that Brazil would promote trade relations with other partners if the European Union continues to fail to recognise Brazil's efforts to protect the environment.
The deforestation process accelerated rapidly during the time of then-far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. Earlier this year, a new administration led by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva came to power in Brazil.
Brazil is the largest exporter of agricultural products to the European Union. In 2022, nearly $12 billion worth of soy, corn, and beef was shipped to the EU. Historically, these goods have caused forest loss throughout the Amazon region, including in Brazil. The government claims that only 2% of Brazilian farmers commit environmental violations.
Observatório do Clima representative M. Astrini argues that the new rules will not cause problems for the majority of producers, making the criticism of European regulations in Brazil "meaningless".
"Such cooperation must include the provision of financial support to facilitate compliance with environmental rules, as well as the provision of incentives to farmers, especially smallholders, so that they do not want to clear forests," M. Astrini told Climate Home News.
The European Union emphasises that it is stepping up cooperation with producer countries to ensure an inclusive transition to legal, deforestation-free supply chains.
Mercosur stumbling block
This issue is likely to come to the fore again in the upcoming negotiations on the long-awaited free trade agreement between the European Union and the South American Mercosur bloc.
Newly elected Paraguayan President Santiago Peña told Reuters in the first week of August that the EU's current environmental requirements in trade negotiations are "unacceptable". He said that the European Union's proposals would hinder the economic development of Paraguay, a major soy exporter.
Brazil is also demanding better trade terms from the EU in exchange for providing environmental guarantees for the protection of the Amazon rainforest. Mercosur officials are working on counter-proposals ahead of a meeting with European Union negotiators. Both sides hope to reach an agreement by the end of this year.
Other major commodity-producing countries, such as Indonesia and Malaysia, have previously criticised these rules adopted in Europe.
"Critical step"
Companies must adapt to the new legislation by December 2024, which requires them to trace the origin of the products they sell back to the plot of land where they were produced or from which the relevant product's raw materials originate.
André Vasconcelos (André Vasconcelos), a representative of the supply chain transparency group Trase, points out that the EU law is a "critical step" in ensuring that consumer markets help to reduce deforestation. However, he added that for the new rules to be "effective and fair", Europe must cooperate with producer countries.
* On 8 August 2023, the presidents of the Amazon countries published the Belém Declaration – a document that combines the common goals of the eight signatories of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO), focusing on the region's shared agenda. Signed on the first day of the Amazon Summit, the declaration outlines the points of agreement between Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Colombia, Suriname, Peru, and Venezuela, based on contributions from civil society, which were highlighted at a seminar on sustainable development of the Amazon held in Brazil this May, as well as input from federal government agencies.