WDK sounds alarm over impact of EUDR delays on rubber supply-chain

Frankfurt/Main, Germany – With just over five months to go before the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) comes into effect, the WDK has raised concerns about a lack of information regarding its requirements.

In a statement, the German rubber industry association said “slow” preparation by European authorities for the implementation of EUDR is threatening the value-chain for natural rubber (NR).

"To date, we have not received the essential information on the EUDR reporting system from the EU, which was promised by March," explained WDK president Michael Klein in the 10 July release.

With a request for a second test-phase for the EUDR information system having been rejected by the EU, companies are expected to start registrations in November, according to Klein.

“And, only in December, with its many public holidays, [will] it be possible to submit the due diligence declarations – immediately before the deadline of 30 Dec,” he added.

The tight schedule means that should something go wrong, supply-chains for important products could quickly break down, Klein warned.

This, he added, would seriously impact industry's ability to supply key NR-based products, such as tires, construction materials and automotive components.

EU delays, stressed the WDK leader, are adding to the pressure of an “unnecessarily tight timeframe for implementation.”

“It cannot be that companies are required to implement on time, but state authorities take all the time in the world” he remarked.

Klein went on to describe the EUDR as a "prime negative example of EU regulation without sufficient impact assessment and inclusion of business expertise."

Describing the regulation as “above all bureaucratic and documentation mania,” Klein concluded that EU industry stood to lose global competitiveness without helping the fight against deforestation.