American farm and food giants held over 350 meetings in Brussels as Europe's forest import rules were softened

The story

Europe's rules meant to keep products from cleared forests off its shelves got plenty of American attention on the way to becoming law. A new investigation by the campaign group Mighty Earth counted at least 351 meetings between US interests and EU decision makers about the regulation over two years. The group says 24 big US companies, trade associations and industry bodies talked about the law in at least 173 meetings with members of the European Parliament and 178 meetings with senior European Commission officials between July 2024 and July 2026. Names on the list include Cargill, Bunge, Mondelēz and the US Soybean Export Council. The most frequent visitors to the Commission were forest owners, a woody biomass alliance, the soybean council, Bunge, the American Chamber of Commerce in Brussels and Cargill. The law bans imports of cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy and wood grown on recently deforested land. It has already been pushed back twice, and its tracing requirements have been loosened so much that some early backers say it has been gutted. It is now due to start in December. Mighty Earth says the pressure also ran through Congress, the Agriculture Department, the trade representative's office and the White House. Two weeks after President Trump met Ursula von der Leyen at a Scottish golf course in July 2025, a joint statement called the US a negligible deforestation risk and promised to address American exporters' concerns. "Our analysis found a relentless and aggressive campaign," said Isabel Fernandez, a senior adviser at the group. The companies tell a different story. The American Chamber of Commerce says it backs the law's goals and only asked for enough time and clear rules to make it work. The soybean council says it wants a transition period, not a delay or an exemption. Bunge says it supports the regulation and already traces its soy back to the farm in key parts of South America. Cargill and Mondelēz did not comment on the record. Mighty Earth wants Brussels to be more open about who it meets and to give environmental groups a fairer hearing before the rules are tested for real this winter.