Dear Member,

In the letter dated 21.10.2024 and numbered 11539 sent to our Chamber from the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye,

It is stated that the proposal to postpone the implementation date of the Regulation on Prevention of Deforestation, which entered into force upon its publication in the Official Journal of the EU dated 9 June 2023, was submitted to the EU Council and the European Parliament (EP).

With the said Regulation, as of 30 December 2024, it has been made mandatory for products such as chocolate, furniture and tyres that use soy, beef, palm oil, wood/wood products, cocoa, rubber, coffee and certain products derived from these as inputs in production to enter the EU market to declare a duty of care that they do not cause deforestation and are produced in accordance with legal regulations.

If the postponement proposal is accepted, large companies will be subject to the obligations under the legislation as of 30 December 2025 and SMEs as of 30 June 2026. The proposal to postpone the implementation of the regulation is expected to be approved by the Council and the European Parliament by the end of the year.

In the Commission statement sent by the Ministry, it was also stated that;

- The published guidance documents include details about the functions of the Information System, updates on penalties and explanations on critical definitions such as 'degradation of forests', 'operator' and 'marketing' within the scope of the law, and explanations on traceability obligations.

- The methods for implementing the rating of countries as high, standard and low have been explained, most countries fall into the low-risk category, and the Commission will intensify its discussions with the aim of completing the rating system by 30 July 2025,

- A strategic framework for international cooperation has been prepared within the scope of the Regulation, and in this context, various implementation tools such as providing support to small farmers, dialogue and financing mechanisms have been determined,

- It has been stated that the Information System, where businesses will record their due diligence declarations, will accept registrations from the beginning of November and will become fully operational in December.

The Ministry's letter, detailed information note on the legislation and documents published by the European Commission are attached.

Best regards.