Recently, many cross-border sellers have received EUDR (EU Zero Deforestation Regulation) compliance reminder emails from platforms or partners. This means that the official execution of EUDR has entered the countdown.
Previously, Amazon had issued a notice stating that in order to comply with EUDR, sellers may need to include due diligence information (DDI) identifiers in advance shipping notices (ASNs) when shipping to Amazon in the European .
This requirement applies to shipments arriving at Amazon facilities from December 30, 2025 (June 30, 2026 for small and micro businesses).
1、 What is the EUDR Act?
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is a key regulation developed by the European to address global deforestation and biodiversity loss. It officially came into effect on June 29, 2023.
This bill is an important component of the "European Green Deal" initiative, with the policy goal of minimizing the impact of the EU market on global deforestation, forest degradation, and biodiversity loss.
The core requirements of EUDR can be summarized into three points:
① Not from forest land that has been deforested after December 31, 2020; ② The production of products must comply with the relevant social and environmental laws of the place of origin; ③ It must fall within the scope of the due diligence statement.
2、 Which products are affected
The following 7 categories of products are affected by EUDR regulations:
Agricultural products: beef, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soybeans
Forestry product: Wood
Examples of commonly used products on the Amazon platform
Wood and wooden products: books (printed materials), wooden furniture, wooden tools/kitchenware, charcoal, wood powder, paper (including photocopy paper)
Agricultural product derivatives: chocolate (including cocoa), coffee beans/coffee products, palm oil products (such as cosmetic ingredients, food additives), rubber products (such as tires, seals), soy products (such as protein powder), leather products (related to rubber).
3、 Which sellers need to comply with EUDR?
Operators and traders operating related products in the EU market, regardless of their location, must comply with the requirements of this regulation.
Firstly, companies need to determine whether they belong to the definition of "medium to large or small micro enterprises" under the EU Zero Deforestation Products Act (EUDR),
1. Large and medium-sized enterprises: Starting from December 30, 2025, they are required to fulfill their due diligence obligations and submit a complete statement before June 30, 2026, with a grace period of 6 months.
2. Micro and small enterprises: The regulations will come into effect on June 30, 2026, and the compliance deadline will be extended to December 31, 2026. Subsequently, it will be enforced on all enterprises.
Enterprise definition standards:
Large and medium-sized enterprises: Meet any of the following criteria: employees>250, annual revenue>50 million euros, or total assets>25 million euros.
Small and micro enterprises: need to meet two-stage standards simultaneously:
① As of December 31, 2020: Two out of 50 employees, annual revenue ≤ 8 million euros, and total assets ≤ 4 million euros;
② In the most recent fiscal year, there are two items: employees ≤ 50, annual revenue ≤ 10 million euros, and total assets ≤ 5 million euros.
4、 What are the consequences of EUDR non-compliance?
Punish violators in both financial and operational aspects of the enterprise. Member states must implement the regulation through their national legal framework, and sanctions may include:
The maximum fine can reach 4% of the company's annual total revenue in the European .
2. Confiscate relevant products or their sales revenue.
3. Public procurement contracts or public funds shall not be obtained for a maximum of 12 months.
4. Temporarily prohibit the placement or provision of any related products in the EU market.
5、 How can sellers achieve EUDR compliance?
1. Clarify the product scope and responsible parties
Sellers need to ensure that their products fall within the regulatory scope of EUDR, and the compliance responsibility required by EUDR is mainly borne by the operator trader:
① Operator: refers to the seller or company that first launches regulated goods into the EU market.
② Trader: Refers to a reseller or distributor of goods that have already been sold in the EU market.
2. Complete due diligence
① Collect supply chain information: Detailed information about the supply chain needs to be collected to ensure that product raw materials do not come from areas with deforestation or illegal logging.
② Geographic coordinate tracing: It is necessary to understand the source of each product's raw materials and ensure that these materials do not come from areas with deforestation or forest degradation.
③ Legal compliance certificate: It is necessary to verify whether the supplier has complied with the relevant laws of the country of origin and whether the raw materials produced or harvested do not violate any legal requirements.
3. Submit due diligence statement DDS
Submitting DDS is a crucial step in EUDR compliance, aimed at demonstrating to regulatory authorities that the seller has completed the required due diligence. The content includes:
① Prove the legitimacy of the source of the product and related raw materials;
② Confirm that the product will come from areas of deforestation or illegal logging in the future;
③ Provide complete supply chain traceability information.
For sellers operating in the EU market, the earlier they take action, the more proactive they can be in the new regulatory environment.
