The US food company Mondelez is pushing for another postponement of the EU deforestation law, which is to ban imports from deforested areas from the end of 2024. The manufacturer of brands like Cadbury and Milka warns of economic burdens due to additional regulation – especially in view of “record high prices and supply shocks” in the cocoa sector.
Cocoa prices on the New York futures exchange have more than tripled in eight months, triggered by adverse weather and crop failures in West Africa, the world's main growing region. Although the prices have recently retreated from their peak of over $12,000 per ton, they are still around $4,000 above the long-term average.
Against this backdrop, Massimiliano di Domenico, Vice President of Government Relations at Mondelez Europe, stated: "Further regulatory hurdles endanger the competitiveness of an industry with a volume of 70 billion euros." The company is therefore demanding a "further postponement" of the law.
Even US competitors Mars and Hershey recently showed restraint: Unlike European companies like Nestlé or Ferrero, they did not sign letters of support to the EU Commission. While Mars publicly emphasizes its principled agreement with the law, it rejects a postponement. Hershey, on the other hand, announced that it continues to support the Commission's efforts to effectively implement the regulation.
Political pressure from Washington apparently played a role in the US companies' change of position. According to insiders, President Donald Trump is known to be skeptical of environmental regulations. His administration had formally requested Brussels in June 2024 to delay the law, as it posed "significant challenges" to US producers.
The EU had already postponed the enactment of the law by one year in October 2023 and published additional guidelines. Nevertheless, resistance is growing: agricultural associations, the timber industry, and right-wing political groups criticize the law as impractical and economically harmful. A joint appeal by several industry associations to amend the law is in preparation.
At the same time, European manufacturers clearly advocate for the implementation. In a recent letter, Ferrero, Nestlé, and Tony's Chocolonely emphasized that further delays would massively undermine the credibility of EU climate policy.
The uncertainty about the implementation causes discontent in the industry," says Antonie Fountain of the sustainability organization Voice Network. "Many manufacturers want clarity. But some U.S. companies do not speak out publicly because they fear political consequences.
In addition to the Deforestation Law, the Digital Markets Act and new EU regulations on methane emissions are also among the points where transatlantic trade relations are increasingly chafing.
