The EU regulation, which was due to go into effect March 1, would require all the bark to be stripped off pallets and other wooden materials used to ship goods into the EU.

The United States complained that the US wood packaging industry has not had sufficient time to prepare and raised questions about the necessity of the measure.

"While we still have concerns about the underlying issue, we're pleased that this seems to be on track to having this huge trade problem averted," said Richard Mills, a spokesman for the US trade representative's office.

In a letter to EU member states earlier this month, then-US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick warned the "new measure will affect 50 percent of US exports to Europe or approximately $80 billion of our trade."

The EU directive is aimed at keeping out two pests in particular: the Asian longhorn beetle, which flies long distances and eats into hardwood trees, and the pinewood nematode, a tiny eelworm that kills trees.

The EU's "debarking" requirement would be in addition to other pest-eradication methods, such as heat treatment and fumigation, that the United States already employs in conformity with the International Plant Protection Convention.

The United States was joined by Canada, China, Mexico, New Zealand and the Philippines last year when it objected to the debarking measure at the World Trade Organization.

Ambassadors from the 25 EU members approved the one-year delay Wednesday, Madelin said. Although it still needs to be approved by the EU Council of Ministers Monday, that is only "a formality," he said. "We now have a guarantee of suspension on time ahead of the entry into force."