# EU Approves Law for ‘Deforestation-Free’ Trade | Human Rights Watch

> The EU formally adopted a law requiring EU-based companies to ensure that seven commodities, including cattle, soy and palm oil, were not produced on land deforested after December 31, 2020. The regulation also requires compliance with local laws covering land rights, labor and indigenous consent, and companies must trace commodities back to their origin.

- Date: 2023-05-16 · published 2023-05-16T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: policy · region EU · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/35971-eu-approves-law-for-deforestation-free-trade-human-rights-watch
- Commodities: [Soybeans](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SOY.md), [Palm Oil](https://feedsoft.ai/c/PALMOIL.md), [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md)

## Why it matters

The traceability and legal compliance requirements raise costs for EU importers of soy and palm products, which can reduce demand for non-verified origins and pressure prices. Beef and leather flows may also face added friction.

## Read by commodity

- SOY: bearish ▼
- LCATTLE: bearish ▼
- PALMOIL: bearish ▼

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SOY | 2023-04-19 | [EU: Major Step For ‘Deforestation-Free’ Trade \| Human Rights Watch](https://feedsoft.ai/events/36441-eu-major-step-for-deforestation-free-trade-human-rights-watch.md) | -4.9% | -10.2% |
| SOY | 2025-12-18 | [EU countries approve year-long delay to deforestation law \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/21521-eu-countries-approve-year-long-delay-to-deforestation-law-reuters.md) | +0.5% | -0.0% |
| SOY | 2023-05-19 | [EU adopts new rules for deforestation-free products \| White & Case LLP](https://feedsoft.ai/events/35970-eu-adopts-new-rules-for-deforestation-free-products-white-and-case-llp.md) | -0.7% | +10.0% |
| SOY | 2023-05-03 | [EU Regulation on Deforestation-free products](https://feedsoft.ai/events/35974-eu-regulation-on-deforestation-free-products.md) | +0.9% | -9.7% |
| SOY | 2023-01-01 | [Regulation on Deforestation-free Products](https://feedsoft.ai/events/38269-regulation-on-deforestation-free-products.md) | -1.0% | +1.2% |
| PALMOIL | 2023-04-19 | [EU: Major Step For ‘Deforestation-Free’ Trade \| Human Rights Watch](https://feedsoft.ai/events/36441-eu-major-step-for-deforestation-free-trade-human-rights-watch.md) | -1.0% | -8.4% |
| PALMOIL | 2025-12-18 | [EU countries approve year-long delay to deforestation law \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/21521-eu-countries-approve-year-long-delay-to-deforestation-law-reuters.md) | +0.6% | +1.6% |
| PALMOIL | 2023-05-19 | [EU adopts new rules for deforestation-free products \| White & Case LLP](https://feedsoft.ai/events/35970-eu-adopts-new-rules-for-deforestation-free-products-white-and-case-llp.md) | +0.3% | -1.0% |

## Sources

- hrw.org: https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/05/16/eu-approves-law-deforestation-free-trade

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.