Deforestation, the impact of Eudr on importers
Effects of the regulation limited to the first operators in the sectors concerned. Expected benefits for EU production to stem the invasion of Chinese goods
It has been a long and complex negotiation on Eudr (the European Deforestation Regulation that came into force two years ago and will be applicable this year), but in the end European companies in the sectors concerned (from agribusiness to wood-furniture to textiles) can breathe a sigh of relief.
The Faqs published by the Commission a few weeks ago (which have legal force for all intents and purposes) have in fact incorporated many of the requests made in recent years by the industry, which had criticised the increase in costs and bureaucratic complexities resulting from this regulation, which was created with the shared objective of guaranteeing the legality, transparency and sustainability of wood-derived products marketed in the EU.
Well, the Commission has clarified that the responsibility and obligation of due diligence (previously extended to all operators in the supply chains concerned, including the producers of finished products intended for export) is limited to the first operators, i.e. those who generate the timber extraction or import.
However, the application dates have changed: 30 December 2026 for large and medium-sized companies and 30 June 2027 for micro and small companies, with the exception of products already included in the previous deforestation regulation, the Eutr.
"This is good news for a large part of the supply chain, which has thus been relieved of the impact of the regulation, but the problem remains for the operators concerned," observes Paolo Fantoni, president of Assopannelli and vice-president of FederlegnoArredo for the wood section. According to data reported by FederlegnoArredo, in fact, "the set of measures adopted reduces the annual compliance costs for companies by about 75%, from an estimated EUR 8.1 billion when the regulation came into force in 2023 to about EUR 2 billion today. These costs are offset by environmental benefits estimated at around EUR 7 billion per year, corresponding to 208 thousand hectares of avoided deforestation and 49 million tonnes of emissions saved annually".
