Jump to a specific section:
- What is the EUDR?
- Is the EUDR applicable to me?
- When do I need to be ready?
- What are the commodities in the EUDR scope?
- Which are the products in the EUDR scope?
- Summary of the in-scope relevant products
What is the EUDR?
On 29 June 2023, a new law came into force in the European Union, to prevent companies from placing commodities linked with deforestation and forest degradation, onto the EU market, or exporting them from the EU.
This law arose in response to the fact that deforestation for agriculture, and forest degradation are contributing to climate change, biodiversity loss, and other urgent environmental challenges:
Between 1990 and 2020, 420 million hectares of forest were lost due to deforestation (FAO). | |
Notably, 23% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions stem from activities like agriculture and forestry, while 12% originate from agricultural production, including livestock and fertilisers (IPCC). | |
Deforestation alone accounts for approximately 11% of greenhouse gas emissions (IPCC). |
Enter the EU Deforestation Regulation: this game-changing regulation strives to reduce the EU's impact on the loss of global forests, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and protect biodiversity by promoting deforestation-free products.
Is the EUDR applicable to me?
The EUDR applies to Operators or Traders who buy and sell relevant commodities (or products containing or made from them) - including soy, beef, oil palm, wood, cocoa, coffee and natural rubber. You must be able to prove that these products do not originate from recently deforested land or contribute to forest degradation.
- An Operator is any legal person within the EU that places relevant products for the first time on the EU market, or exports these from the EU.
- A Trader is any legal person that supplies (buys and sells) relevant products already placed on the EU market for distribution, further processing or consumption.
Operators and large Traders have a legal responsibility to demonstrate that these products do not originate from recently deforested land, nor contribute to forest degradation (in the case products derived from or containing, wood).
>> Leverage the scoping tool for more information.
When do I need to be ready?
Most organisations must be in compliance with their obligations under the regulation as of 30 December 2024 (date of application). However, some organisations will qualify for an extended compliance deadline of 30 June 2025. This extension applies as follows:
- Operators (entities placing relevant products on the EU market or exporting them) that were established as small or micro-undertakings (as defined by the regulation) before 30 December 2020 are eligible for the extension.
- This extension applies to all relevant products listed in Annex I of the EUDR, except those wood products already covered by the EUTR. In other words, there is no exemption in relation to products currently subject to compliance with the EUTR.
The EU Timber Regulation* (EUTR) will be replaced by the EUDR once it comes into force on 30 December 2024. However, the EUTR will still apply for three years for wood products that meet these conditions:
- The trees were harvested before the EUDR came into force (29 June 2023), and
- The wood product is placed on the EU market on or after the EUDR becomes applicable (30 December 2024).
*Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 laying down the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market.
What are the commodities in the EUDR scope?
The EUDR targets seven vital commodities, considered by the EU to be important in relation the region’s consumption volumes and to deforestation risk: soy, cattle, oil palm, wood, cocoa, coffee and natural rubber.
Which are the products in the EUDR scope?
Within each relevant commodity, the regulation defines which products are in scope, according to a list of EU customs codes. Annex I lists the product customs codes for each relevant commodity.
By default, this means that any product or commodity placed on the EU market, or exported from the EU, under a Customs Code not listed in Annex I, can be considered exempt from the regulation
Summary of in-scope relevant products
Commodity | Products |
---|---|
Cattle |
- Live cattle, meat and offal of cattle. |
Cocoa | - Cocoa beans - Cocoa products, such as cocoa shells, butter, powder, chocolate, and other food preparations containing cocoa |
Coffee | - Coffee beans (roasted or not) - Coffee products such as coffee husks, skins and coffee substitutes containing coffee. |
Oil palm and palm oil products | - Palm nuts and kernels - Palm or Babassu oil and its different stages of refining - Oilcake and other solid residues of palm nuts or kernels - A range of chemical derivatives of palm oil, relevant to the food and other industries: Glycerol, fatty acids, and other products |
Rubber | - Natural rubber in various forms, including raw, compounded, vulcanised rubber. - Various rubber products, including tyres, rubber gloves and other articles of rubber. |
Soy | - Soybeans (whole or broken) - Soy products such as soy flour, meal, oil, and cake (a byproduct of oil extraction) |
Wood and wood products | Many products containing paper, cardboard, chips/fibre or solid wood, including: - Raw materials (logs, chips, fuelwood) - Processed wood products: furniture, flooring, board-products, pulp and paper products, printed materials, charcoal and tools |
Note: This is not an exhaustive list.
>> Find the complete list of products with the specific codes in Annex I of the EUDR here.