When the Deforestation Meets the Free Trade: A Critical Analysis of the European Union Deforestation Free Regulation (EU DFR)

This article is written to provide an understanding for World Trade Organization members as European Union trade partners to respond to the EU Deforestation Free Regulation. In achieving that purpose, this article implements the normative method through the implementation of a doctrinal, cases, and conceptual approach. There are three discussions presented in this article. The first discussion express that the EU might violate the rules on non-discrimination under Articles I:1 and III:4 GATT, and the prohibition on quantitative restriction under Article XI:1 GATT. The second discussion expresses that the EU may violate Articles 2.1 and 2.5 TBT Agreement which prohibits the implementation of a discriminative technical regulation and the implementation which reflects an unnecessary barrier to international trade. Last but not least, the third discussion states that the EU may justify this measure based on the public moral, and the protection of human, animal, and plant life and health. The third discussion also expresses the finding of this paper which is that international cooperation can be utilized as an instrument that may address the conflict of interests caused by the implementation of the WTO law and the international environmental law.