EUDR Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

EUDR (EU Deforestation Regulation) is Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 which prohibits placing products linked to deforestation or forest degradation on the EU market. It covers seven commodities: timber, palm oil, soy, cocoa, coffee, rubber, and cattle.

The regulation entered into force on 29 June 2023. After two postponements, the compliance deadline is 30 December 2026 for large and medium operators (and timber-sector micro/small operators) and 30 June 2027 for other micro and small operators.

Seven commodities and their derived products: timber (furniture, paper), palm oil, soy, cocoa (chocolate), coffee, rubber (tyres), and cattle (beef). Since the delegated act of 13 July 2026, leather and retreaded tyres are out of scope, while soluble coffee and certain palm oil derivatives join from 30 December 2027.

A product is deforestation-free if it was produced on land that has not been subject to deforestation after 31 December 2020 and has not caused forest degradation.

Due diligence is a mandatory three-step process: information collection (including GPS coordinates), risk assessment, and risk mitigation. If the risk cannot be reduced to a negligible level, the product cannot be placed on the market.

An operator is any person who, in the course of a commercial activity, places relevant products on the EU market for the first time or exports them from the EU. This includes importers, producers, and exporters.

The operator is the first to place the product on the market or export it. The trader is any other person in the supply chain who makes the product available on the market. Operators have stricter due diligence obligations.

Fines of at least 4% of annual EU turnover, confiscation of products and revenue, exclusion from public procurement, and prohibition from placing products on the market.

Operators must provide GPS coordinates of all plots of land where the commodities were produced. For plots larger than 4 hectares, geospatial polygons must be provided.

The EU Commission classifies countries into three risk categories: low, standard, and high. The first list was adopted on 22 May 2025 (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1093); all EU member states, including Romania, are low risk. The classification determines the level of due diligence required and the frequency of checks.

No. Micro and small operators (non-timber) have until 30 June 2027, and small/micro primary operators producing in low-risk countries may file a simplified one-time declaration. Downstream companies file no statement at all — only the first downstream buyer retains the upstream reference numbers.

Yes, but with a key distinction since the December 2025 revision. A producer-exporter (first placing on the market) has full due diligence obligations. A downstream company exporting goods already covered by an upstream statement files nothing and is expressly exempt from providing a reference number in the customs export declaration (amended Article 26(4)).

The February 2025 Omnibus communication signalled simplification of EU sustainability rules. For the EUDR, its substance was delivered by the December 2025 targeted revision (postponement, downstream simplification, simplified declarations) and the 2026 simplification package. Plot-level geolocation was retained.

Verify the existence of a valid due diligence statement in the EU information system, confirm that the supplier can demonstrate traceability back to the production plot, and verify the land was not deforested after 31 December 2020.

The full text of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 is available on EUR-Lex: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32023R1115