Following UNIC – Italian Tanneries, FederlegnoArredo also raises its voice against Brussels. The outburst was tied to the application of the European Deforestation-Freeproducts Regulation (EUDR). In other words, the deforestation regulation that will become applicable in 9 months.
Federlegno also raises its voice
Adnkronos reported that the president of FederlegnoArredo, Claudio Feltrin, sent a letter to the ministers of MAECI, MASE, MIMIT, MASAF and European Affairs. The demand is “to open a dialogue and find a way to give a voice to the wood industry in Europe”. The alarm is tied to the ones tanners launched more than once. “Even if the regulation – reads the official statement -, has many positive aspects and we agree with it, in practice it risks of having an extremely high impact”. First: “On the national forest system, on which a number of initiatives to increment output are underway”. Second: “On companies exporting their finished products aboard, the true added value of Italy’s chain”.
Bureaucratic costs difficult to manage
“In the coming weeks – continues Feltrin – the EU will discuss important details relating to the application of the European Deforestation-Freeproducts Regulation (EUDR)”. The regulation “will force our segment’s companies to conduct a due diligence with the right goals in mind”. But this “would also force them to have bureaucratic costs difficult to manage, and in many cases, impossible to absorb”. The risk is to “have the opposite effect to that intended by the EUDR. We therefore believe necessary to have a constructive discussion with the parties involved”. The goal is shared by Italian tanners: “protecting the activities of a chain that’s always been attentive towards deforestation but that risks of remaining paralyzed and damaged by the regulation”.
Righting a wrong
“To this – he concludes -, is added the fact that by limiting the scope of action to Europe only, some operators may decide to move their production sites and companies in other countries near Italy but outside the application of the EUDR”. Easy to figure out which ones: “Turkey or Northern Africa, this destroying the national wood chain and connected industries. FederlegnoArredo plans on using all the tools at its disposal to right this wrong: to protect the chain, protect the environment and maintain competitivity”.
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