From 30 December 2024, the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) will require operators and traders to comply with new due diligence obligations, to ensure that certain products traded on or exported from the EU market are “deforestation-free”.

What Products are in Scope?

The EUDR applies to:

• Relevant Commodities: cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya and wood; and
• Relevant Products: products derived from relevant commodities (as listed in Annex I of the EUDR) including meat, leather, chocolate, glycerol, pneumatic tyres, soya-bean oil, wood furniture, newspapers, books.

The EUDR applies regardless of whether such items are produced in the EU or imported from outside the EU.

Operators and Traders

The obligations primarily apply to operators and traders (who are not SMEs):

• An operator places relevant products on the EU market or exports them, in the course of commercial activity. “Placing on the market” means the first making available of a relevant commodity or relevant product on the EU market.
• A trader is anyone in the supply chain other than an operator who, in the course of commercial activity, makes relevant products available on the EU market. “Making available on the market” means supplying a relevant product for distribution, consumption or use on the EU market.

What is Prohibited?

From 30 December 2024, operators and traders will be prohibited from placing or making available on or exporting from, the EU market, relevant commodities and relevant products, unless they are:

• deforestation free – produced on land that was not subject to deforestation (or forest degradation) after 31 December 2020;
• produced in accordance with the relevant legislation of the country of production; and
• covered by a due diligence statement.

Due Diligence Statement

Operators and traders will be required to file a due diligence statement, confirming that relevant products are deforestation-free and have been produced in accordance with the relevant legislation of the county of production, prior to placing/making the products available on the EU market or exporting them from the EU.

Due Diligence Obligations

The EUDR provides for a three-step due diligence process:

1. Information Collection demonstrating compliance with the EUDR;
2. Risk Assessment to establish risk of non-compliance; and
3. Risk Mitigation in the form of adequate procedures and measures to mitigate and manage non-compliance risk, including carrying out independent surveys/audits.

The European Commission will publish a benchmarking system classifying countries (or regions) as “standard risk”, “low risk” and “high risk”.  Simplified due diligence may be exercised, excluding the risk assessment and risk mitigation obligations, when sourcing from areas classified as low risk.

Operators and traders are required to establish and maintain a due diligence system, which must be reviewed at least annually.

Annual Reporting

Operators and traders will be required to publicly report on their due diligence system, on an annual basis.

Enforcement

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is the designated competent authority for enforcement of the EUDR in Ireland.

In addition to significant penalties for non-compliance, competent authorities have the power to order corrective action, including immediate withdrawal or recall of a relevant product.

Timing

Obligations for operators and traders commence from 30 December 2024.

Operators and traders who are SMEs are subject to less onerous obligations, which commence from 30 June 2025.

The EUDR repeals and replaces the EU Timber Regulation.  There is a transition period for wood/derived products whereby the EU Timber Regulation will continue to apply until 31 December 2027 for timber/timber products produced before 29 June 2023 and placed on market from 30 December 2024.