Golden statement on successful push to pause EU point-of-origin rule, protect Maine forest products industry

WASHINGTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) released the following statement after the European Union’s (E.U.) decision to delay its point-of-origin regulation that he and 72 other bipartisan House members requested a pause to last month:

“Maine’s forest products industry has set the bar globally for sustainability, yet even our own businesses would have been unable to meet the impossibly high standard of this proposal,” Golden said. “I’m glad that the E.U. listened to concerns from both producers and consumers across the world, and I’ll remain focused on ensuring any possible future implementation is workable for Maine businesses.”

“We applaud the EU's decision to delay its point-of-origin regulation and Congressman Golden for working to achieve that delay,” Dana Doran, executive director of the Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast said. “Maine loggers are global leaders in responsible timber harvesting and we are confident the EU can benefit from wood harvested by Maine contractors, grown by Maine landowners and manufactured by Maine mills as long as common-sense prevails in any standards established to regulate those exports."

According to the E.U., the new rule will now go into effect on December 30, 2025 for “large companies” (those employing more than 250 workers) and on June 30, 2026 for “small and micro enterprises” (those employing fewer than 50 workers and 10 workers, respectively). 

Without a delay, the E.U.’s new rule would have mandated new point-of-origin reporting requirements on December 20 of this year for goods exported to the economic bloc to ensure production does not contribute to global deforestation. This includes exact geographic location coordinates to specific plots of land, despite the fact that current technology is unable to trace the source of blended forest products such as wood chips. 

Implementation could have prevented American-made forest products from reaching the E.U.’s market — devaluing U.S. timberlands and decimating domestic manufacturing in the process. U.S. forest product exports to the E.U. are valued at $3.5 billion.

Full text of the lawmakers’ letter originally requesting a pause can be found here.

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