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By Kate Abnett
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -European Union countries on Tuesday approved a year's delay to the bloc's anti-deforestation law, confirming the postponement of the world-first green policy, the Council of the EU said in a statement.
The delay to the law, which was scheduled to be implemented later this month, is a blow to the EU's green agenda, which is facing pushback from industries and some governments that say EU measures to fight climate change are too onerous.
But it offers relief to companies and EU trading partners, including the United States and Brazil, which oppose the policy and warn it will upend trade as many firms struggle to comply.
The sign-off from governments on Wednesday finalises a December 2025 start date for the EU's policy to ban the import of soy, beef, coffee, palm oil and other goods linked to the destruction of forests.
Brazil and Indonesia had branded the law protectionist and said it could exclude millions of poor, small-scale farmers from the EU market. Other pushback had come from the U.S., which criticised the EU for being late to launch a compliance system for producers to submit their documentation.
The law will require companies and traders also placing wood, cocoa, rubber and some derived products like chocolate onto the EU market to provide proof their supply chain does not contribute to deforestation, or face fines and potentially have their products turned away.
The EU will categorise countries as low, medium or high risk for deforestation, determining how rigorously customs authorities will check products for compliance. Companies exporting commodities from Europe would face the same obligations.
Much of the opposition concerned the law's reporting requirements - not only its timeline.
EU lawmakers, who tried, unsuccessfully, to weaken the policy last month, have said they expect Brussels to also explore how to simplify the law's reporting rules. That has worried campaigners.
"This must not be an excuse to weaken the law in any way," said Nicole Polsterer, a campaigner at environmental group Fern.
The delayed law will be published in the EU's official law journal in the coming days.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett, Charlotte Van Campenhout. Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Mark Potter and Aurora Ellis)
