Back to Geostrategic Priorities: The Neglect of Global South Stakeholders in the European Union’s Supply Chain Governance

With its Green Deal, the EU has presented itself as a global leader in sustainability. However, recent revisions to environmental legislation indicate a shift back toward geostrategic priority. Supply chain laws, such as the 2023 EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and the 2024 Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), provide illustrative examples. By requiring due diligence from import companies, they complement voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) to prevent consumption-related harm in third (non-EU) countries. Yet, scholars have highlighted the underrepresentation of Global South stakeholders (GSS) in standard-setting processes. A central focus is on palm oil and soya, which account for 34% and 32.8% of the EU’s consumption-related deforestation. Taking recent revisions into account, this paper asks whether the new laws build hybrid accountability pathways for GSS in third countries or primarily consolidate EU geostrategic interests of limiting market access, while securing biomass supply. We look at the EUDR and CSDDD, including their recent revisions, alongside the most widely used VSS for palm and soya, namely the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and the Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS). Based on document analysis, an evaluation of the European Commission’s public stakeholder consultations and semi-structured interviews, we examine and compare requirements for GSS inclusion. We find that, although both laws reinforce sanctioning, CSDDD’s revisions reduce the procedural and enforcement requirements for the upstream part of supply chains, including for GSS consultation. In contrast, EUDR maintains the requirements for exporters from third countries while reducing the burden on downstream actors. In this context, VSS, although not constituting proof of compliance under either law, inform import company due diligence and authorities’ assessments. VSS remain particularly relevant for upstream actors owing to their accessibility safeguards, localised consultations, and grievance mechanisms.