Berlin – The social partners of the German wood industry—the Industrial Union of Metalworkers (IG Metall) and the Main Association of the German Wood and Plastics Processing Industries (HDH)— have issued a joint appeal to the federal government, calling for the planned EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) to be streamlined.
In a letter to Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the social partners IG Metall and HDH warn of production disruptions and further job losses should the regulation be implemented on December 30, 2025, without fundamental adjustments. HDH and IG Metall support the EUDR’s goal of effectively combating global deforestation, the causes of which lie predominantly in industrial agriculture outside Europe. This makes it all the more important to have regulations that are targeted and do not create unnecessary bureaucracy in countries where deforestation does not occur. However, under the proposed regulation, producers and all downstream companies would be required to maintain individual records of all timber used.
IG Metall Executive Board Member Nadine Boguslawski explains:
“Environmental and climate protection are also in the interest of workers. To achieve this, we need practical and enforceable rules and less bureaucracy. The latter helps neither forests nor employment.”
HDH President Johannes Schwörer explains:
“The timber industry is already in a difficult economic situation. Many companies are struggling with declining orders, high energy and material costs, and a persistent investment backlog. The EUDR significantly exacerbates this situation, as companies that are already under heavy pressure must now spend a great deal of money to implement the regulation. Furthermore, two-thirds of small and medium-sized enterprises are currently unable to comply—they run the risk of being excluded from the market by the deadline.”
Without a functioning digital infrastructure and practical implementation solutions, there is a risk of production stoppages, short-time work, and further job losses. The social partners also warn of noticeable impacts on consumers in Germany and Europe, such as a decline in the availability of wood products.
For this reason, HDH and IG Metall advocate for a substantial simplification of the regulation within Europe and call on the federal government to work toward a practical solution that limits documentation and due diligence obligations to the first distributors, relieves the burden on companies in the downstream supply chain, and monitors global deforestation via satellite rather than through bureaucracy.
Background:
The EUDR requires all market participants to fully record and report origin data for wood products in an EU database. Even according to the European Commission’s assessment, the technical and organizational implementation is hardly feasible by the end of the year. A survey of companies conducted by the HDH also showed that two-thirds of small and medium-sized enterprises will not be able to comply with the EUDR by the deadline.
Even taking into account the European Commission’s new proposal, the regulation remains highly bureaucratic and confusing, and it imposes documentation requirements on all companies—including those that do not source any products from high-risk countries but operate primarily on a regional basis.
You can download the social partners’ joint appeal here.
