EUDR: 100 days to go
With less than 100 days to implementation, the EUDR simplification review is now formally adopted by the EU. In our latest EUDR update, responsible sourcing expert Maggie Fitzherbert lays out the latest changes and explores whether the date of implementation is likely to change.
Have you been keeping up with the changes to the scope of EUDR? After a last round of scrutiny, the Delegated Act has been published in the Official Journal of the EU, meaning final changes to the scope are now confirmed with less than 100 days to go until implementation.
From my perspective as a specialist trainer, it seems that efforts to simplify the rules have made the regulation even harder to interpret.
It is now not enough to work out if you are an Operator; you also need to understand if you are an Upstream Operator, Downstream Operator, or Micro Small Primary Operator (see our guide).
With most EU exporters exempt from submitting a Due Diligence Statement, I have been wondering: How can companies in the UK and other third countries manage export and re-import scenarios?
This is a complex topic that we will be exploring in detail with our next cohort of EUDR trainees. UK companies need to be aware that European buyers of re-imported materials will need to supply verifiable evidence that the material has been on the EU market in the past.
Without this evidence, the European buyer cannot make use of the Downstream Operator exemptions and would have to repeat due diligence, including collecting or geolocation data and evidence of legality. This is likely to create significant barriers to trade, so well worth planning ahead.
Will the EUDR be postponed again?
Unlike the last two years, where negotiations and rumours of delays were swirling around until the eleventh hour, all signals finally point towards an implementation date.
Let us hope we can leave uncertainty behind and get on with the job at hand: Decoupling deforestation from the production and consumption of everyday products.
Previously, a product or material could be considered as either recycled or non-recycled under EUDR. Manufactures diverting goods from waste streams could benefit from a broad EUDR exemption that applied to goods or materials that had “completed their lifecycle.”
This has not changed, but a new category has been introduced: Used and second hand, which aims to incentive companies to take a circular economy led approach.
New addition to the EUDR: Second hand goods
In our last post, we explained the new company classifications, and the additions, amendments, and removal of certain products. Now, let’s look at a crucial change in how EUDR sees used and second-hand products.
The exemption for recycled materials has been extended to include used and second-hand goods in almost every product in-scope of EUDR. To check if this new rule applies to your business, refer to the Delegated Act, where you will see amendments such as:
“The entry ‘4403 Wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood, or roughly squared’ is replaced by the following: ‘ex 4403 Wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood, or roughly squared (not including used products and second-hand products).’”
How does this apply if a product is being repaired, or made from a mix of used and new components? The rules follow the same logic as the waste exemption, where full traceability, due diligence and the submission for statement are required for the new components / inputs, but not the used or second-hand parts.
Like the rules for the waste exemption, the burden of proof to prove the goods are used is on the Operator. Given that due diligence is not required for exempt products, it is unlikely there will be requirement to submit due diligence statements.
When we apply this rule to packaging, it can seem a little complex, so we have broken it down in this table, which is a simplified version of the wording used in the Delegated Act.
Packaging scenario | EUDR status |
|---|---|
New packaging placed on the market as a standalone product (for example: new empty pallets) | In scope |
Used packaging repaired using new, non-recycled parts | New parts in scope; Used parts out of scope |
Packaging used to support / carry another product, regardless of whether the packaging itself has been used before | Out of scope |
Reuse or return of empty packaging after its first use as a support | Out of scope |
Get support on your EUDR journey
Our Responsible Souring team have been busy keeping up with two years of changes and re-designing our training courses to make your job easier.
If you need to know how the EUDR impacts your business, what requirements apply to your products, and get practical tips on implementation, our upcoming EUDR Applied Training course could be for you.
Maggie Fitzherbert
