Analysis of the European Union Deforestation Regulation under WTO Law and Its Impact on the Cocoa and Coffee Sectors in Peru’s Economy: Part II

As explained in the first paper of this research, in 2023 the European Union, within the framework of the European Green Deal, approved Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 (EUDR). This regulation establishes that six commodities and their derived products must not have caused deforestation during their production process. Accordingly, none of these products may contain, have been fed with, or have been made using relevant commodities produced on land that was subject to deforestation after 31 December 2020. The first paper concluded that the EUDR is inconsistent with WTO regulations. This paper focuses on the possible arguments the European Union may raise to justify the EUDR. For this purpose, it analyses the possibility of justifying the EUDR under Article XX (a), (b), and (g) of the GATT. In the final section, this paper discusses the trade impact the EUDR may have on developing countries and presents several proposals to help mitigate these effects.