The European Commission has unveiled a set of measures designed to streamline the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), a landmark law intended to ensure that products entering or leaving EU markets no longer contribute to global deforestation and forest degradation.

Originally proposed in November 2021, the EUDR seeks to prohibit the placement of deforestation-linked products on the EU market. It imposes rigorous compliance obligations on companies dealing with key commodities and products such as palm oil, beef, timber, coffee, cocoa, rubber, and soy, along with several derived goods including leather, chocolate, tires, and furniture.

Under the updated EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), companies placing relevant products on the EU market or exporting them will be required to follow strict due diligence procedures. These include tracing products back to the exact plot of land where they were produced, demonstrating that the land was not deforested after 2020, and ensuring compliance with all applicable laws in the country of origin.

The regulation officially took effect in June 2023, with compliance initially scheduled for late 2024 for large companies and June 2025 for micro- and small enterprises. However, in October 2024, the European Commission announced a one-year implementation delay, citing global and intra-EU readiness concerns.

These adjustments are part of a broader EU initiative to simplify regulatory compliance and reduce administrative burdens, as outlined in the Commission’s January “Competitiveness Compass” strategy. That roadmap aims to cut reporting requirements by at least 25% for all companies and 35% for SMEs.

Key simplification measures under the revised EUDR include:

• Annual due diligence submissions: Companies can now submit due diligence statements on an annual basis, rather than for every shipment or batch.
  
  
• Reuse of due diligence statements: Large companies may reuse prior due diligence statements when reimporting goods previously placed on the EU market.
  
  
• Authorized representatives: Group representatives may now submit due diligence statements on behalf of multiple affiliated companies.
  
  
• Streamlined supply chain checks: Companies are permitted to meet upstream due diligence obligations by collecting and referencing existing due diligence statement numbers from their suppliers.

The European Commission estimates these updates will reduce administrative costs associated with the regulation by approximately 30%.

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