The first step in responding to the EU Deforestation Regulation is to determine if your products are on the controlled list. This article will offer a detailed explanation of the EUDR's scope of control, helping you confidently address EUDR compliance challenges. Let's take a look!

Which Commodities Does the EUDR Apply to?

The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) replaces the former EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) and expands the scope from timber to include a total of 7 major categories of commodities: cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya, and wood, as well as related derived products (such as chocolate, tires, stearic acid, etc.).

Annex I of the EUDR clearly lists the names of the controlled commodities (including derived products) and their corresponding HS codes, facilitating precise regulation and easy identification and declaration by businesses.

Are All Products Listed in Annex I Subject to EUDR Control? Are there any exceptions?

It is clear that products not listed in Annex I are definitely not subject to EUDR control. Even if their ingredients are listed in Annex I, they are not subject to this regulation. For example, soap, even if it contains oil palm which is listed in Annex I, is not subject to this regulation.

If products listed in Annex I are not made from the corresponding 7 categories of commodities, they are not subject to EUDR regulation. For instance, HS Code 9401 20 (motor vehicle seats) is listed in Annex I; however, they may be made of artificial leather or other raw materials other than wood. In such cases, only wooden motor vehicle seat products are subject to this regulation. Another example is HS Code 4011 10 (new rubber pneumatic tyres for motor vehicles), which is listed in Annex I, but only tyre products made of natural rubber are subject to this regulation.

Are Bamboo Products Subject to EUDR Regulation?

Article 1(1) of the EUDR stipulates that “relevant products” under the Regulation refer only to those that contain or are made from the seven categories of “relevant commodities” listed in the Regulation, namely cattle, coffee, cocoa, oil palm,  rubber, soya, and wood.

According to the explanatory notes of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), bamboo is classified as a non-wood forest product and therefore does not fall within the scope of “wood” as referred to in the EUDR.

The definition in Article 2(2) of the EUDR also clearly states that the HS codes listed in Annex I of the Regulation serve only to identify the products actually covered by the Regulation. Since bamboo is not defined as “wood,” products made solely from bamboo are not subject to EUDR, even if their HS codes may overlap with those of wood products in some respects.

Does the EUDR also Regulate Products Produced Within the EU?

As long as a product falls within the regulatory scope of the EUDR (i.e., goods listed in Annex I and their derivatives), it must comply with the Regulation regardless of the country where it is produced, provided that it is ultimately placed on the EU market or exported from the EU.

Are Products Imported to the EU Exempt from EUDR Regulation due to Small Quantity or Low Value?

Any product imported into the EU market, further distributed within the EU market, or exported from the EU that is listed in Annex I and contains components of the seven categories of commodities will be subject to EUDR regulation, regardless of its quantity or value.

Are Wood and Paper Used for Packaging Subject to EUDR Regulation?

Packaging materials specifically used to support, protect, or carry another product placed on the market are not subject to this Regulation.

This can be understood as follows:

If the packaging is sold or exported as an independent commodity:

For example, if you sell a batch of empty wooden pallets separately or export a roll of paper for packaging. In such cases, the wood and paper themselves are regarded as independent “products” and are subject to the Regulation, requiring due diligence.

If the packaging is used as an accessory to the main product:

For example, a wooden pallet used to transport a batch of coffee beans, or a carton used to hold chocolate products. In such cases, regardless of the HS code of these packaging materials (e.g., HS 4415 or HS 48), they are not subject to the Regulation as long as they exist specifically to “support, protect, or carry” another main product.

The Key to Judgment Lies in the Principles of Customs Classification

When a product is imported or exported, if the packaging materials are classified under the same HS code as the main product they carry (rather than being classified separately), they are considered “specifically used as packaging materials” to support, protect, or carry that product.

Additionally, a draft delegated act proposed by the European Commission suggests that documents accompanying other products, such as user manuals, information leaflets, product catalogs, marketing materials, and labels, also fall within this scope of exemption, unless they are sold or made available on the market as independent commodities or exported independently.

Are Recycled Waste Products, Such As Recycled Paper or Cardboard Products, Subject to EUDR Regulation?

Annex I of the Regulation clearly stipulates that if a commodity is produced entirely from materials that have reached the end of their service life and would otherwise be discarded as waste (i.e., made purely from recycled “waste”), it is not subject to this Regulation and no obligations need to be fulfilled.

However, if a product contains any non-recycled (i.e., virgin) materials, even in small amounts (e.g., a small quantity of virgin pulp added to increase strength), the product must fully comply with the Regulation and trace back to the original origin of these non-recycled materials.

In addition, Annex I of the Regulation also states that, in general, by-products generated during manufacturing processes are subject to the Regulation. For example, incidental products from timber production in sawmills that are not the main purpose, such as wood chips, are subject to regulation. That is, if you use wood chips to produce other products, those products will be subject to regulation.

To summarize: Products made entirely from 100% recycled waste are generally not subject to regulation. But as long as virgin materials are added, they must comply with the Regulation and trace the source.

Are Samples and Products Used for Inspection, Analysis, or Testing Purposes Subject to EUDR Regulation?

According to a draft delegated act proposed by the European Commission, there are several scenarios for exemption:

• Small quantities of samples used to solicit orders: If product samples are of negligible value and quantity, provided solely to demonstrate product types for securing orders, and their presentation and quantity exclude any use or consumption beyond seeking orders, such samples are not subject to the Regulation.

• Products used for inspection, analysis, or testing that are completely consumed or destroyed: This also applies to products received for inspection, analysis, or testing to determine their composition, quality, or other technical characteristics. The key is that these products must be fully exhausted or destroyed during the entire inspection, analysis, or testing process.

Explanations with specific cases:

• Tire testing: For example, a supplier sends a batch of tires to a vehicle manufacturer for testing their quality and durability, and these tires are completely worn out or destroyed during testing. In this case, the tire samples used for testing are not subject to regulation.

• Sensory evaluation or quality testing of new raw materials: Another example is when a supplier sends small quantities of new ingredients (such as cocoa beans or coffee beans) to a food manufacturer for sensory evaluation or in-house quality and food safety testing, and these ingredients are fully used up during analysis and testing. Under such clear contractual arrangements and purposes, neither the supplier nor the food manufacturer is required to fulfill due diligence obligations for these samples.

• A note on boundary cases: If a coffee company imports a small quantity of coffee bean samples from a new production region solely for in-house use and consumption (e.g., tasting) to decide whether to order large quantities from the same region, such samples may not fall within the above exemption, as they are not completely consumed or destroyed in a rigorous analysis or testing process, and compliance requirements may still apply.

In short, the core of the exemption lies in whether the samples are purely for marketing display without actual consumption, or are completely worn out in rigorous testing processes.

If a Product Is Provided Through Leasing (Renting) Rather Than Direct Sale, Is It Subject to EUDR Regulation?

If the relevant product is merely rented or provided under similar contractual arrangements (e.g., loan) without involving the transfer of ownership or any other property rights in law, it is generally not considered "placed on the market" or "made available on the market" and thus not subject to this Regulation.

For example: An EU company A (non-SME) purchases wooden furniture from an EU manufacturer B (which has completed due diligence and submitted a DDS). If company A then leases this furniture to other customers within the EU for a period, retrieves it, and re-leases it subsequently, company A is not required to fulfill EUDR obligations, as it only rents the furniture without transferring ownership.

However, there is a critical exception and clarification here:

Any product already in free circulation in the EU market that is designated as an "export" through customs procedures (explicitly including products exported from the EU in the form of leases) is considered to have been "placed on the market" and thus subject to this Regulation.

This means that while leasing within the EU without ownership transfer is generally not regulated, if you export the product to a country outside the EU in the form of a lease, the transaction will be regarded as a regulated "placing on the market" and require corresponding due diligence obligations.

Thus, the core lies in whether the lease crosses EU borders or involves the actual transfer of ownership.

If a Company Conducts Multiple Internal Processing Steps on EUDR-Regulated Products, When Is It Required To Conduct Due Diligence?

The Regulation stipulates that due diligence obligations and DDS submission are only required when the final "relevant product" processed by you (the same company) is first placed on the market. All intermediate internal processing steps do not require separate due diligence or DDS submission, as long as the product does not leave your company and is not placed on the market.