The European Union’s Deforestation Regulation, EUDR will enter into force on 30 December 2024. Its purpose is to reduce global deforestation, forest degradation, and biodiversity loss.
Products covered by the Deforestation Regulation include cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya and wood, including products listed in Annex EUDR1 made from these materials.
The EUDR requires operators who place products covered by the regulation on the EU market or export them. Therefore, the regulation applies to imports into the EU, exports from the EU, domestic trade, and trade within the EU, as well as production and further processing within the EU.
Goods produced before the regulation’s entry into force, December 30 2024, can be declared exempt for customs clearance purposes, thus not requiring a due diligence (DD) statement.
The EUDR defines expectations and measures for operators and traders subject to it. These are based, for example, on the size of the company and its role in the supply chain.
The transition period for small and micro-enterprises is until June 30, 2025. However, it does not apply to operators. Importing and exporting companies are generally considered “operators” under the regulation. The size of the company does not affect the measures required by the regulation for imports and exports.
If your company manufactures or trades in the mentioned products, you should refer to the detailed guidelines provided by the European Union. In Finland, the respective authority is Ruokavirasto, the Finnish Food Authority.