<span style="color: #222222;">The European Union has agreed on a new law to prevent companies from selling commodities into the EU market linked to deforestation around the world. The regulation will apply to soy, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa, coffee, some derived products, including leather, chocolate and furniture. Rubber, charcoal and some palm oil derivatives were included at the request of EU lawmakers.<br />''<br />''According to media reports, the companies would need to show when and where the commodities were produced and verifiable information that they were not grown on land deforested after 2020. Failure to comply could result in fines of up to 4 percent of a company's turnover in an EU member state.<br />''<br />''The European Parliament's lead negotiator, Christophe Hansen, said the regulation will give impetus to the protection of forests around the globe.</span><br />