FRANKFURT/MAIN, Germany—With just over five months to go before the European Union Deforestation Regulation comes into effect, the German Rubber Industry Association (WDK) has raised concerns about a lack of information regarding its requirements.
In a statement, the WDK said "slow" preparation by European authorities for the implementation of EUDR is threatening the value chain for natural rubber.
"To date, we have not received the essential information on the EUDR reporting system from the EU, which was promised by March," WDK President Michael Klein said in the July 10 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 Dec. 30," 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 the industry's ability to supply key NR-based products, such as tires, construction materials and automotive components.
EU delays are adding to the pressure of an "unnecessarily tight timeframe for implementation," Klein stressed. "It cannot be that companies are required to implement on time, but state authorities take all the time in the world."
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 the EU industry stood to lose global competitiveness without helping the fight against deforestation.
