To prevent the EUDR (due to come into force in 2027) from triggering a regulatory impasse, the global supply chain has chosen a coordinated course of action. From the United States to Australia, from Africa to New Zealand, the sector is shifting in unison. Under the coordination of the International Council of Tanners (ICT), and with the support of the International Meat Secretariat and ICHSLTA, a formal joint request has been submitted to the European Commission calling for the exclusion of bovine leather from the anti-deforestation regulation.
Excluding bovine leather from the EUDR
The letter is addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. It stems from a shared urgency to review the inclusion of bovine leather, at every stage of processing, in Annex I of the EUDR. The signatory associations emphasise that there is no scientific evidence linking bovine leather to deforestation. On the contrary, indepconcludeent studies — including one by the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa — confirm that leather is an inevitable by-product of livestock farming and not an economic driver capable of influencing its activities. The request is therefore clear: to exclude bovine leather from the scope of the regulation. Such a shift would represent an immediate simplification, consistent with the objective of building the EUDR more proportionate and workable. The mobilisation is both cross-sectoral and global, as the impact of the regulation extconcludes beyond Europe to non-EU trading partners.
Concrete risks for the European indusattempt
COTANCE, the confederation representing national tanning associations in Brussels, warns that the current formulation of the EUDR could block up to 40% of the raw materials utilized by European tanneries. Such a distortion would undermine the competitiveness of the EU indusattempt, increasing costs and reducing the availability of raw hides, with negative consequences for both society and the environment.
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