- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
- De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad
- Japanese trainer Yahagi hopes Shin Emperor achieves 50-year-old Arc dream
- UK's Starmer hails 'landmark' carbon capture funding
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
Brazil urges EU to suspend 'punitive' anti-deforestation law
Brazil said Thursday it has urged the EU to suspend the implementation of a ban on imports of products driving deforestation, describing the new rules as "punitive".
The EU law, set to take effect at the end of December, will bar a vast range of goods -- from coffee to cocoa, soy, timber, palm oil, cattle, printing paper and rubber -- if produced using land that was deforested after December 2020.
The Brazilian government said the legislation was "a matter of serious concern", for the South American country is one of the EU's main suppliers of most of the products targeted by it.
"To avoid any negative impact on our trade relations, we request that the EU refrain from implementing (the law) at the end of 2024 and urgently reassess its approach to the matter," Brasilia said in a letter to the European Commission shared with AFP Thursday.
The letter was signed by the ministers of foreign affairs and agriculture.
It adds to concerns voiced by the United States as well as Latin American, Asian and African countries about the administrative burden the new law places on farmers and the forestry sector.
Within the EU itself, the agriculture ministers of around 20 member states -- led by Austria and Finland -- warned in April about the law creating new bureaucratic hurdles for the farm sector, at the risk of harming investment and distorting competition.
The largest group in the European parliament has called for it to be postponed.
Brazil said it considered the legislation "a unilateral and punitive instrument that disregards national laws on combating deforestation", adding it increased production and export costs especially for smallholders.
The commission confirmed it received the letter.
"We will reply in due course," a spokesman said.
It had earlier said it was "working intensively on the implementation of this new regulation", with no postponement planned at this stage.
The EU is the second-biggest market for consumption of the targeted products after China.
Firms importing the merchandise in question to the 27-nation EU will be responsible for tracking their supply chains to prove goods did not originate from deforested zones, relying on geolocation and satellite data.
Exporting countries considered high-risk would have at least nine percent of products sent to the EU subjected to checks.
The EU's environment commissioner in March visited Paraguay, Bolivia and Ecuador to address criticisms of the new law.
The bloc has also offered technical and financial help for importers to get their tracing systems up to the needed level.
EU imports are responsible for 16 percent of global deforestation, according to WWF data.
P.L.Madureira--PC