EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR)

This card focuses on the practical process of preparing and submitting a Due Diligence Statement (DDS) under the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR: Regulation (EU) 2023/1115), and on how responsibility is allocated among operators across the value chain. Under EUDR, operators placing covered commodities (cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy, and wood) and their derived products on the EU market, or exporting them from the EU, are legally required to submit and register a DDS through the European Commission's information system (TRACES NT / the EUDR Information System) before trading or shipping the goods. By submitting a DDS, an operator ultimately takes on legal responsibility for confirming that the relevant product in its value chain is deforestation-free and was produced in compliance with the laws of the country of production. The regulation sets out concrete compliance requirements, including a system for downstream operators and SMEs to reference an upstream DDS reference number under simplified arrangements, and a five-year document retention obligation.

This card focuses on the specific criteria and operational practice for 'risk assessment' and 'risk mitigation' under Articles 9 and 10 of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR: Regulation (EU) 2023/1115). In the risk assessment step — the second step of due diligence under EUDR — operators must rigorously assess, based on the geolocation and sourcing data they have collected, whether there is no or only a negligible risk that the relevant product is linked to deforestation, or that it was produced in violation of the laws of the country of production (covering matters such as land use rights, human rights, labor rights, tax law, and anti-corruption law). Where a risk is found not to be negligible, the operator must carry out risk mitigation measures — the third step — such as gathering additional data, commissioning independent third-party audits, or conducting on-the-ground investigations of suppliers, and is prohibited from submitting a DDS or placing the product on the market until the risk has been reduced to a negligible level.

This card focuses on the geolocation data collection and verification requirements under Article 9 of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR: Regulation (EU) 2023/1115), and on the practice of registering that data with the EU Information System (TRACES NT). EUDR legally requires the collection and traceability of precise geolocation data for every plot of land where the raw materials in a covered product were produced. For relatively small plots of four hectares or less, a single geographic coordinate point (to at least six decimal places) is permitted; for plots larger than four hectares, operators must collect polygon data precisely delineating the boundary of the plot. Operators must register and submit the geolocation data they collect, together with production date data, to the EUDR digital portal built on the European Commission's TRACES NT (Trade Control and Expert System New Technologies) platform.

This card focuses on the structure of the Country Benchmarking System under Article 29 of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR: Regulation (EU) 2023/1115), its risk classification criteria, and the associated Member State sampling inspection rates and simplified due diligence requirements. Based on objective and transparent scientific assessment, the European Commission classifies and publishes countries or specific regions worldwide into one of three risk categories: Low Risk, Standard Risk, or High Risk. Assessment factors include the rate of deforestation and forest degradation, trends in agricultural expansion, UN and EU restrictive measures, the protection of indigenous peoples' rights, and compliance with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Where a product's country of production is designated Low Risk, operators may apply Simplified Due Diligence, which exempts them from the second and third steps of due diligence — risk assessment and risk mitigation.