October 9, 2024 (press release) –
Businesses across the timber sector are being urged to continue their preparations for the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), despite the European Commission’s recent proposal to postpone implementation of the EUDR until 30 December 2025 for large companies, and 30 June 2026 for micro- and small enterprises.
It’s important to note that unless this proposal is formally ratified by the Member States and the European Parliament, the EUDR will be implemented as planned, so members should continue their EUDR preparations. To help with this EUDR implementation, further documents and guidance have been released by the EU. TDUK is also highlighting key parts of the guidance that are important to TDUK members, links to which can all be found below:
Members are kindly being invited to read all the documents listed above, and flag any other issues of concern to TDUK. TDUK will also thoroughly review the documents and provide an update at the next EUDR working-group meeting on 17 October.
Highlights:
Guidance on EU Deforestation Regulation
For timber and timber products as defined in Article 2(a) of the EUTR, special rules apply, pursuant to Article 37(3) of EUDR:
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For timber and timber products produced before 29 June 2023 and:
– placed on the market before 30 December 2024, such products must comply with the rules of the EUTR;
– placed on the market from 30 December 2024 until 31 December 2027: the rules of EUTR continue to apply;
– placed on the market from 31 December 2027, such products shall comply with Article 3 of the EUDR. -
For timber and timber products produced from 29 June 2023 until 30 December 2024 and:
– placed on the market before 30 December 2024, such products must comply with the rules of the EUTR;
– placed on the market from 30 December 2024, such products must comply with the rules of the EUDR.
– Timber and timber products produced from 30 December 2024 must comply with the rules of the EUDR.
Due diligence for composite products: using existing due diligence statements
Operators who are exporting or placing on the market ‘composite products’ (for example, furniture made from other relevant timber products) can make reference to existing due diligence statements where applicable.
When non-SME operators are making a submission to the Information System (described in Article 33) they can refer to due diligence statements that have already been submitted to the Information System, but only in cases where they have ascertained that the due diligence for the products contained in or made from relevant products has been properly exercised, in accordance with Article 4(1) and (9).
Information contained in existing due diligence statements may be referred to in order to complete the information requirements set out in Article 9. For example, the geolocation information for commodities may be identified in the due diligence statement of a relevant product contained in the relevant product that the operator is seeking to place on the market or export and will not have to be provided again if reference is made to the upstream due diligence statement.
Third Edition of FAQs
3.4. What are the obligations of non-SME operators further down the supply chain?
When submitting their due diligence statement in the Information System, non-SME operators further down the supply chain may refer to due diligence performed earlier in the supply chain by including the relevant reference number for the parts of their relevant products that were already subject to a due diligence.
However, pursuant to Art. 4(9) of the Regulation, they are obliged to ascertain that due diligence was carried out and they retain legal responsibility in the event of a breach of the Regulation (Art. 4(10)). Ascertaining that due diligence was properly carried out may not necessarily imply having to systematically check every single due diligence statement submitted upstream.
For example, the downstream non-SME operator could verify that upstream operators have an operational and up-to-date due diligence system in place, including adequate and proportionate policies, controls, and procedures to mitigate and manage effectively the risks of non-compliance of relevant products, to ensure that due diligence is properly and regularly exercised.
If the upstream operator is a non-SME, the downstream operator may refer to the results of an independent audit that non-SME operators must have in place to check the existence and regular use of internal policies, controls and procedures based on Art. 11 (2)(b).
1.17. How should the place of production of mixed goods be declared? (NEW)
The operator needs to declare the place of production of all goods effectively shipped to the EU. For example, if compliant goods from multiple places of production are mixed into the same silo, stack, pile, tank, etc, and then some of those goods are placed on the EU market. The place of production declared should include the place of production of all goods that entered the silo since it was last empty (and could therefore potentially be included in the shipment).
If the silos are not regularly emptied, the operator would need to declare the place of production of all goods that entered the silo during a period of time that ensures that commodities of unknown place of production are not mixed up in the process. For instance, when downloading part of the goods stored in the silo, this could be safely done by declaring the geolocation of all previous goods that entered the silo up to a minimum of 200% of the silo capacity, provided that the silo works in first-in first-out system. This approach applies to relevant commodities or products stored in stacks, tanks, etc. and all continuous processing.
Declaring the place of production of x amount of goods that entered the silo, where x is the amount placed on the EU is not allowed under the Regulation, as it would violate the prohibition under the Regulation of placing products of unknown origin on the Union market.
SME factsheet: Obligations for SMEs operating under EUDR
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Less obligations for downstream SME operators: No need to exercise due diligence or submit a due diligence statement, when it was already done by the upstream operator, i.e. the operator that first put the commodity or derived product on the market.
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Lighter mitigation measures for all SME operators: SMEs are not required to put in place policies and procedures to mitigate risks of non-compliance of relevant products.
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No reporting obligations: SME operators are not subject to the annual reporting obligations of their due diligence system.
EUDR Mythbuster
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EUDR – Myths vs. Reality: Debunking myths around the EU Deforestation Regulation
Proposal for a Regulation amending Deforestation Regulation as regards the date of application
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(5) Implementing Regulation of [xx 2024] on the functioning of the information system pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 provides for an information system and access to it to operators and traders, and if applicable, their authorised representatives, competent authorities, and customs authorities, to implement their respective obligations laid down in the Regulation. Operators and traders thus would be able to register and submit due diligence statements even before the entry into application of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115.
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(8) However, to provide operators and traders with the information on assignment of risk to relevant countries of production well in advance before their due diligence obligations start to apply, the date by when the Commission is to classify countries or parts thereof, that present a low or high risk should be postponed only by 6 months.
Communication from the Commission on a Strategic Framework for International Cooperation Engagement on Deforestation
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The general objective of the Strategic Engagement Framework is to support the work in partnership with countries and stakeholders across the globe on the basis of a number of established principles and across relevant value chains in efforts to jointly address the root causes of deforestation and forest degradation, within the scope of the EUDR, but also beyond.
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The Annex presents the general principles on the benchmarking methodology.
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