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H. R. No. 75 *HR26/R2629* ~ OFFICIAL ~ N1/2
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To: Rules
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Representative Mangold
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 75
A RESOLUTION CALLING UPON THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO PASS 1
LEGISLATION PROHIBITING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 2
DEFORESTATION REGULATION IN MISSISSIPPI. 3
WHEREAS, in 2023, the European Union passed the European 4
Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which requires operators 5
and traders to prove that commodities like cattle, coffee, cocoa, 6
palm oil, soy, rubber, and timber, along with derivatives of these 7
commodities, are not linked to deforestation or forest degradation 8
when placed on the European Union (EU) market; and 9
WHEREAS, to prove that market contributors are not 10
participating or complacent in deforestation practices, the EUDR 11
requires operators and traders to prove that their products are 12
deforestation-free, have been produced in compliance with relevant 13
laws of the county of origin, and to submit a due diligence 14
statement that shows the market contributor has checked the origin 15
of the products he or she is trading and ensured that the product 16
meets all of the EUDR requirements; and 17
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WHEREAS, while the enforcement date for compliance with EUDR 18
policies has been delayed several times to allow the European 19
Union to reconsider some of the foundational flaws of the EUDR, 20
and to give impacted industries time to become compliant with EUDR 21
policies, the looming possibility of implementing the EUDR 22
threatens the United States economy and the livelihood of 23
countless timberland owners and farmers; and 24
WHEREAS, the EUDR places a great burden on the agriculture 25
and forestry market, and could ultimately prevent timberland 26
owners and farmers from accessing the European export market 27
altogether; and 28
WHEREAS, in 2024, the EU purchased roughly 22% of United 29
States' hardwood lumber exports, and about 15% of all United 30
States' forest product exports, and a failure to comply with the 31
EUDR could result in penalties that span from huge fines to being 32
banned from selling or exporting relevant commodities in the EU 33
market permanently, the EUDR's cumbersome, unworkably technical, 34
and ill-conceived policies will likely tank the global timber 35
industry and drive many small timberland owners and farmers out of 36
business; and 37
WHEREAS, forestry and timber is the number two agricultural 38
commodity in Mississippi, with forestry and timber adding $1.48 39
billion into Mississippi's economy annually; and 40
WHEREAS, in 2024, 19,008,846 acres of Mississippi land was 41
dedicated to forestry, with these acres being divided between 42
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130,000 landowners, and providing jobs to thousands of 43
Mississippians; and 44
WHEREAS, enforced compliance with EUDR policies could 45
decimate the Mississippi forestry industry and put thousands of 46
timberland owners, forestry workers and manufacturers out of 47
business because of the economic disadvantage the EUDR's policies 48
create; and 49
WHEREAS, the Forest Landowners Association (FLA) criticizes 50
the European Union Deforestation Regulation as a policy that, 51
despite its stated environmental objectives, would impose 52
sweeping, unworkable requirements on United States' forest 53
landowners and jeopardize market access for sustainably produced 54
American wood products; and 55
WHEREAS, FLA further supports its position by highlighting 56
that the EUDR imposes unrealistic traceability mandates, and 57
displays a disregard for the structure of United States' private 58
property rights, which makes the EUDR policies impossible to 59
implement without causing significant harm to the economy; and 60
WHEREAS, FLA reports that American landowners already manage 61
forests sustainably, replant aggressively and operate under some 62
of the most rigorous environmental protections in the world, 63
further insisting that the EUDR would punish good stewardship in 64
American forestry, not enhance it; and 65
WHEREAS, the American Farm Bureau Federation reports that the 66
European Union is the fourth largest export market for United 67
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States' commodities, purchasing roughly $5.6 billion in 68
commodities in 2024; and 69
WHEREAS, Farm Bureau argues that by pushing for the universal 70
application of the EUDR, the EU is failing to recognize the 71
long-standing position of American farmers and ranchers as global 72
leaders in sustainable agricultural production; and 73
WHEREAS, the traceability requirements do not consider that 74
United States' commodities are not vertically integrated into the 75
supply chain, which creates significant hurdles to providing 76
geolocation data from each step of the supply chain; and 77
WHEREAS, Farm Bureau warns that even though the 78
implementation of the EUDR policies has once again been delayed 79
until 2026, as long as the regulations stay as they are currently 80
drafted, agricultural and forestry supply chains will be strained 81
as they attempt to comply with the EUDR before the enforcement 82
deadline; and 83
WHEREAS, the American Forest and Paper Association also 84
reports that the United States does not contribute to global 85
deforestation, and that the universal application of EUDR policies 86
will cost the United States' economy billions annually, and 87
ultimately not achieve the EU's stated policy goal; and 88
WHEREAS, the American Forest and Paper Association voices 89
concerns that delaying the implementation of the EUDR policies 90
does not solve the concerns that the regulations are too complex, 91
cause significant technical barriers, and will cause millions of 92
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United States' landowners, manufacturers and workers to be put at 93
risk; and 94
WHEREAS, despite the members of the agriculture and forestry 95
industry sounding the alarm about the devastating impact the EUDR 96
policies will have in the American economy, there has yet to be 97
any meaningful action taken in Washington to discourage the 98
implementation of the EUDR policies or prohibit these regulations 99
from being forced upon American timberland owners and farmers; and 100
WHEREAS, it is imperative that action is taken on a national 101
level, in order to ensure that the EU is not allowed to cause 102
major harm to the American economy by enforcing unnecessary and 103
overly stringent deforestation policies: 104
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF 105
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby 106
call upon the United States Congress to forthwith pass, and 107
President Donald J. Trump to speedily sign, legislation that 108
prohibits the implementation of the European Union Deforestation 109
Regulation. 110
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That we call upon President Donald J. 111
Trump to take any and all necessary efforts to prohibit the 112
implementation of the European Union Deforestation Regulation 113
policies in Mississippi. 114
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be furnished to 115
President Donald J. Trump, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, 116
Mississippi's United States Senators, Speaker of the House Mike 117
H. R. No. 75 *HR26/R2629* ~ OFFICIAL ~
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ST: European Union Deforestation Regulation;
urge Congress to adopt resolution and
legislation discouraging implementation of
policies required by.
Johnson, Mississippi's United States Representatives, the United 118
States Attorney General's Office and to the members of the Capitol 119
Press Corps. 120