On October 18, 2022, in a Federal Register Notice (FRN), the U.S. State Department issued a request for comments on combatting international deforestation. Comments should address the topics outlined in the FRN, which include:

• The potential effects of limiting or removing “specific commodities grown on illegally deforested lands from agricultural supply chains;”
• The operational effects of prohibiting trade in commodities “grown on lands deforested either illegally or, (legally or illegally) after December 31, 2020 (and products containing those commodities);” and
• The most effective approach to “limiting or removing specific commodities grown on deforested lands from agricultural supply chains.”  Proposed approaches include restricting importation and requiring due diligence processes.

Details on comment submission can be found in the FRN here:

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/10/18/2022-22541/request-for-stakeholder-input-on-options-for-combating-international-deforestation-associated-with