Trump blasts EU deforestation regulation as “textbook over-regulation”

Trump shared an op-ed by Andrew Puzder arguing the EU's deforestation law burdens low-risk nations like the United States while delivering negligible environmental benefit.

First Published: July 5, 2026, 3:50 PM EST

WHITE HOUSE — Donald Trump has mentioned the source (see agenceurope.eu) criticizing the European Union’s deforestation regulation as textbook over-regulation on a Truth Social post on July 5, 2026 at 10:35 AM EST.

Here is the full post on [truthsocial]: “The EU’s deforestation regulation: textbook over-regulation that Draghi warned against – by Andrew Puzder: https://agenceurope.eu/en/bulletin/article/13894/39/the-eus-deforestation-regulation-textbook-over-regulation-that-draghi-warned-against-by-andrew-puzder”

The op-ed, written by Andrew Puzder and published by Agence Europe on June 24, 2026, argues that the European Union Deforestation Regulation imposes heavy compliance costs on countries that pose negligible deforestation risk while producing little environmental gain (see agenceurope.eu). Puzder contends that the regulation forces operators dealing in cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy, and wood products to prove those goods are “deforestation-free” through costly due diligence, geolocation data submissions, and voluminous record-keeping.

The EUDR, formally known as Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, was adopted to reduce the EU’s impact on global deforestation and forest degradation by ensuring products consumed in Europe do not drive forest loss (see europa.eu). The regulation is considered a key element of the European Commission’s broader plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions and protect biodiversity.

Puzder singles out the United States as a prime example of an unfairly burdened nation, noting that American forest area has been stable or expanding for decades. Under the current benchmarking system, “low risk” American operators face the same regulatory requirements as “high-risk” operators, a structure that Puzder says burdens billions of dollars in trade unnecessarily (see agenceurope.eu). He also cites the U.S.-EU Framework Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade, in which the European Commission acknowledged that the United States “poses negligible risk to global deforestation.”

The op-ed further criticizes the European Commission’s May 2026 simplification package as a double standard. Puzder argues that the package eases rules primarily for EU-based small and medium-sized enterprises while leaving foreign operators subject to the full burden of traceability, satellite monitoring, supplier audits, and legal risk assessments. The Commission’s own impact assessment still forecasts annual compliance costs of roughly 2 billion euros even after the proposed changes, he writes (see agenceurope.eu).

Puzder invokes former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi‘s 2024 report on EU competitiveness, which called out blunt, one-size-fits-all regulatory approaches as a drag on European economic performance. The op-ed urges EU co-legislators to reject the Commission’s report and instead exempt operators from countries with proven stable forests and good governance.

In the last 30 days, 1 of 505 Trump posts were on the topic of “Climate,” making this a rare foray into environmental policy for the former and current president.

The regulation’s next steps remain uncertain. The European Parliament and Council had directed the Commission to present a simplification report by April 30, 2026, accompanied by a legislative proposal where appropriate. Whether the co-legislators will adopt, reject, or further amend the Commission’s proposals could shape transatlantic trade relations for years to come.