EU DEFORESTATION REGULATION (EUDR)

On 29 June 2023, the European Union adopted Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2023. This regulation establishes rules for placing on the EU market and exporting from the EU certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation, and repeals Regulation (EU) No. 995/2010.

It is commonly referred to as the Deforestation Regulation or EUDR (European Union Deforestation Regulation).

The aim of the Regulation is to ensure that certain commodities and products — beef, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy, and wood — are fully traceable and produced or grown without causing deforestation or forest degradation in the EU or third countries.
 These commodities and related products may be placed on the market only after a due diligence process has been carried out, resulting in confirmed and documented evidence that the product is “deforestationfree.”

A product is considered “deforestationfree” if its production has not taken place on land that was deforested after 31 December 2020.
 Market operators (importers, exporters, processors, manufacturers) and traders will be required to ensure that the origin of the products they sell can be traced back to the specific plot of land where they were produced.

According to the currently applicable rules, implementation of the Deforestation Regulation will begin on 30 December 2025 for medium sized and large companies, while micro and small companies will be subject to the Regulation six months later, starting 30 June 2026.

More detailed information is available on the website of the Latvian Ministry of Agriculture:
 https://www.zm.gov.lv/lv/es-atmezosanas-regula-eudr