An alarming 90% of deforestation worldwide happens because land is cleared for farming. This widespread clearing of forests causes major problems — it harms our climate by releasing carbon, destroys countless animal and plant habitats, harms indigenous people, disrupts vital water cycles, ruins soil but also reduces the earth’s capacity to absorb CO₂ — ultimately putting the earth at risk in many ways.

Since the products we consume in the EU can contribute to this issue, the EU decided to take strong action to combat this issue through the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). This effort is not entirely new, it actually started with an older set of rules called the EU Timber Regulation, which focused on stopping illegal logging. Now, the deforestation law is building on that foundation, expanding to include a much wider range of products and materials that are the main drivers of deforestation.

Under the deforestation law, deforestation is specifically defined as a change in land use. Any land that used to be classified as forest, and has been cleared from that forest after 31 December 2020, is marked as deforested land. No matter if the forest is cleared by human activity or natural events.

The deforestation law came into force on 29 June 2023 and with this, any company importing to or exporting from the EU must now prove they do not come from recently deforested land or contribute to forest damage.

Products covered under the law

The deforestation law applies to a specific list of commodities and their derived products that are the main drivers of deforestation.

Products directly covered:

• cattle
• wood
• cocoa
• soy
• palm oil
• coffee
• rubber

And their derived products:​

• leather​
• chocolate​
• rubber
• tires​
• furniture
• paper

Via this link you will find the product codes (HS-code) of all products included in the EUDR.

If your company imports these mentioned products on the EU market or exports them from it, you have to provide a due diligence statement (DDS), stipulating the following information:

• The products do not originate from recently deforested land (meaning, land cleared of forest after 31 December 2020).
• The products have not contributed to forest degradation.
• The products were produced in accordance with the relevant laws of the country of production (including human rights and indigenous peoples' rights).

This means that producers of the mentioned products, needs to be able to provide precise information about where their products were made, including geo-location data, to verify their deforestation-free status.

The transition time

To give businesses enough time to adapt, the EU recently added a 12-month grace period. This means the law will fully apply:

From 30 December 2025 for large and medium companies.

From 30 June 2026 for smaller businesses (micro and small enterprises).

The new deforestation law effectively replaces the older EU timber regulation (EUTR), which had been in force since 2013 with the following handover period:

• For timber products made before 29 June 2023, the older timber law (EUTR) will still apply until the end of 2027.
• For all other products, and for any timber made after that date, the new deforestation law takes its place as soon as it officially applies.  

Resellers within the EU

Resellers within the EU are legally considered traders. They buy and sell products that have already been placed on the EU market.

Their obligations:

• Keep a reference: They must record the reference number of their supplier’s Due Diligence Statement (DDS).
• Store documents: They must keep documentation about product origin and reference numbers for at least 5 years.
• No own DDS required: Small and medium-sized traders do not need to submit their own DDS — unless they are classified as a “large trader.”
• Legal responsibility: They remain legally responsible if it turns out that a product does not comply with the EUDR, even if someone else prepared the DDS.

Exception: Large traders (e.g. more than 250 employees or more than €50 million turnover) must submit their own DDS, just like operators (such as Solo midocean).

Resellers outside the EU

Resellers outside the EU are not directly subject to the EUDR — unless they:

• Export products to the EU
• Produce products for the EU market

Obligations when exporting to the EU:

1. They must give their EU customers information about product origin, including:

• Geolocation of production plots
• Proof of deforestation-free production

2. In some cases, they must prepare their own DDS — especially if they act as producers.

Depending on the company size different regulations applies. All companies need to administer references numbers of the Due Diligence report (DDS) they get from their suppliers and keep this information for 5 years. Next to this, all companies are legally responsible for the DDS of the product, even if it was provided by their supplier.

Only larger companies (250> employees or 50> million euro) need to have their own DDS.

Find the full EUDR regulation here!

All the information given in this article is based on our knowledge and interpretation of the official documents. No legal claims can be made based on the information in this article.