A new study by researchers at the Environmental Change Institute has created a tool to help track how fair or unfair certain trade rules are—especially rules made by one country or region, like the EU, without agreement from others. The tool focuses on the EU’s new law to stop imports linked to deforestation.
As the EU and other countries start using trade rules to protect the environment, people are worried about how fair these rules are—especially for farmers and producers in poorer countries. These kinds of rules are often made without involving the people they affect, which can lead to unfair treatment and make existing problems worse.
The new Policy Equity Framework offers a way to assess and track how such policies affect equity across all stages of their design and implementation. It highlights three key areas of risk: procedural, distributive, and recognitional equity, spanning global to local levels.
Using cocoa production in Ghana as a case study, the researchers identify potential unintended impacts of the EU’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) on smallholder farmers, such as increased compliance costs, shifts in market access, and limited involvement in decision-making processes. They stress the need for more inclusive governance, equitable partnerships with producing countries, and targeted support for vulnerable groups.
The report calls for coordinated, multi-actor monitoring efforts to ensure that international trade policies deliver on both environmental and social goals.
The full report includes an equity checklist and guidance for adapting the framework to other commodities and contexts. With the EUDR implementation timeline recently delayed, the authors argue this is a key moment to embed equity more deeply into global policy frameworks.
Read the full report in Forest Policy and Economics: Equity in unilateral value chain policies: A monitoring framework for the EUDR and beyond