AF&PA urges veto of NY bill

The Washington-based American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) and its President and CEO Heidi Brock have released a statement urging New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to veto a forest products-related piece of legislation that has been passed by both chambers of that state’s legislature.

"AF&PA asks Gov. Hochul to once again veto New York’s TREES Act, which continues to ignore the fact that the U.S. paper and wood products industry champions sustainable forestry and does not contribute to deforestation,” Brock says.

“Gov. Hochul vetoed similar legislation last year, finding that the ‘bill’s extensive certification requirements would also impose significant burdens on businesses–particularly small businesses–that want to do business with the state,’” she adds.

The TREES (Tropical Rainforest Economic & Environmental Sustainability) Act, or Assembly Bill 9711, is described by its backers such as the World Wildlife Fund as being designed to “help ensure that New York state doesn't contribute to the destruction of tropical forests.”

In addition to saying the bill’s goals have little to do with most paper or board used by individuals and companies in the Empire State, the AF&PA portrays it as a law that would add to regulatory and paperwork burdens for businesses operating in the state.

“The proposal would have significant effects for our industry’s circular supply chain and continues to raise serious definitional concerns and questions on the trade-restrictive approach to forest management,” Brock says.

Regarding the circular supply chain, in a news release issued last month, AF&PA stated that 80 percent of paper and board mills use some portion of recovered paper as feedstock and about 46 million tons of paper and cardboard were collected for recycling last year in the U.S.

“Many of the same concerns that led the European Union to recently delay the onerous European Union Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR) are also present in this legislation, including issues surrounding certification, traceability and forest classification requirements,” she adds.

Brock concludes, “We urge Gov. Kathy Hochul to veto New York’s TREES Act as it will severely harm the forest products industry, which employs more than 26,000 New Yorkers.”