US corporate lobbyists held more than 350 meetings with EU officials over two years in a push to postpone and weaken the EU deforestation law (EUDR), according to an investigation by the advocacy group Mighty Earth. The group describes a two-year "blitz" by major American businesses, trade bodies and government officials against what it calls the world's most progressive legislation to protect forests.

What the EU deforestation law bans

The EUDR prohibits imports of commodities such as cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya and wood from deforested land. When it was proposed, then European environment commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius called it "the most ambitious legislative attempt to tackle these issues worldwide ever", and some US lawmakers said it should serve as a model for American rules.

The regulation's rollout has since stalled. Implementation has been delayed twice, the original goal of rigorously tracing where commodities come from has been heavily revised, and some of the law's initial supporters now claim the policy has been in effect "dismantled". The law is due to come into effect in December.

The scale of the lobbying campaign

By Mighty Earth's count, at least 24 US firms and industry bodies raised the EUDR with European policymakers on a strikingly regular basis over the two years from July 2024 to July 2026: members of the European parliament were lobbied in no fewer than 173 encounters, while senior European Commission officials accounted for another 178.

The US organisations that met the European Commission most often were:

• •the National Alliance of Forest Owners
• •the Advanced Woody Biomass Alliance
• •the US Soybean Export Council
• •Bunge
• •the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU
• •Cargill

Cargill held two meetings with the Commission, Bunge one and Mondelēz eight. Lobbying was also routed through the US Congress, the US Department of Agriculture, the Office of the US Trade Representative and the White House, according to Mighty Earth. The group notes that lobbyists from many countries, including Brazil and several EU nations, contributed to the dilution of the law, but says it has provided the most detailed analysis yet of the role of US organisations.

Earlier this year, a delegation of Trump administration officials travelled to EU capitals arguing that the law would put the US off exporting to the European market because it would raise costs for US producers.

That is how Isabel Fernandez, senior adviser for Mighty Earth, described the findings, adding that President Trump offered to personally intervene to pressure EU policymakers. In her view, the lobbying ranks included firms with some of the worst records, still tied to clearing forest illegally to grow soy and other commodities that reach European shoppers.

Companies deny a concerted campaign

US company representatives and industry groups deny there was a concerted campaign to derail the deforestation rules, saying their meetings with EU officials raised legitimate concerns around implementation. They say their engagement was designed to better understand and enhance the EUDR.

The American Chamber of Commerce to the EU said it raised concerns about EUDR implementation challenges, such as IT system shortcomings and a lack of clarity around the obligations of companies, and a spokesperson described its role as constructive. AmCham EU added that it has consistently supported the EUDR's objective of tackling global deforestation and promoting sustainable supply chains, asking for sufficient time for companies and authorities to prepare.

The US Soybean Export Council said its focus was on supporting industry compliance: "USSEC does not seek delay or exemption; rather we favour a transition period as the Regulation comes into force."

Bunge said it is committed to deforestation-free supply chains and has achieved 100% traceability to farm for both direct and indirect soy sourcing in priority areas of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. The company said it supports the objectives of the European Union Deforestation Regulation while observing its own non-deforestation commitment, contacting EU bodies and national authorities through sector organizations and directly to request clarification on complex practical implementation scenarios.

Cargill and Mondelēz did not send an on-the-record response to the Guardian's request for a comment.

US-EU statement and next steps

Two weeks after a July 2025 meeting between President Trump and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at a Scottish golf course, the two sides released a joint statement that promised the US special treatment with regard to the EUDR. The commission stated that the US "poses negligible risk to global deforestation", and the statement said the EU would work "to address the concerns of US producers and exporters regarding EUDR, with a view to avoiding undue impact on US-EU trade".

Mighty Earth said the investigation shows the EU needs to adopt greater transparency about lobbying activities and to give more access to civil society to ensure balance.

The EUDR is set to come into effect in December, after two delays and heavy revisions to its tracing requirements.