EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR): Which goods are affected – and which are not?

The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) has come into force with the aim of combating deforestation and forest degradation through the trade of commodities and products. With clearly defined requirements for traceability and due diligence, companies are obliged to ensure that only deforestation-free products reach the EU market.

In recent months, I have read a lot about this topic in the LinkedIn feed, but since the affected goods are listed in Annex I of the regulation, many readers seem to understand which goods the regulation applies to. However, as with the rest of the regulation, the devil is in the details. Let's take a closer look.

Definition of "relevant goods"

The two terms are defined in Article 2 of the regulation.

The regulation considers the following products as "relevant goods":

• Cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palms, rubber, soybeans, and wood.

At first glance, the listed goods may sound surprisingly mundane. In 2023, after the publication of the regulation, I wondered where exactly these products fall under the customs tariff, as rubber in particular is a diverse product that can also be produced synthetically.

In Annex I the relevant goods are listed in words in the left column.

Under which headings are they now classified?

These "relevant goods" can also be found in the right column under "Relevant Products," which can initially lead to confusion.

Definition of "relevant products"

• Products that are wholly or partly made from, contain, or are fed with these goods.

How does the dictionary define "raw materials"?

Raw material = "any substance such as oil, cotton, or sugar in its natural state, before being processed for use"

"Relevant raw materials" and their headings in the HS Tariff Nomenclature

What does "ex" mean for individual headings in Annex I?

For a long time, it was unclear what the prefix "ex" before individual headings in Annex I might mean, as these prefixes are not further defined in the regulation itself.

Over time, the European Commission published the following definition of the prefix "ex" on a website specifically set up for the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR):

When "ex" precedes the HS code of products in Annex I, the product described in the annex is an "extract" from all products that can fall under the HS code.

The text also contains an example:

If the relevant product, e.g., "ex 4011 New air tires made from rubber," is made from a mix of synthetic and natural rubber, the operator (or non-SME trader) only needs to fulfill due diligence for the natural rubber component.

This example shows that the regulation only covers natural rubber under the relevant goods "rubber," i.e., heading 4001, and also the products made from or containing natural rubber components.

Which relevant goods under Article 2 are now affected?

Note: non-exhaustive list

Let's now consider the other products with the prefix "ex" for the remaining relevant goods:

🛑 Which "related" goods are not affected? 🛑

Note: non-exhaustive list

What about composite goods?

The focus is on the main item listed in Annex I.

Example: Chocolate bar of heading 1806 (cocoa vs. palm oil)

For a chocolate bar, due diligence is only required for the main relevant raw material, in this case, cocoa, which is listed in the left column of Annex I of the EUDR.

For a chocolate bar (1806), cocoa is the main relevant raw material. Therefore, due diligence applies to cocoa powder (1805) and cocoa butter (1804), but not for possibly used palm oil.

Which "relevant products" made from the above-mentioned raw materials or containing them are affected?

Note: This list is not exhaustive.

Products from/with cattle (from the genus Bos, Bibos, Novibos, and Poephagus)

• Fresh and frozen meat, including for the production of feed (0201, 0202)

• Offal, fit for human consumption, including for the production of animal feed (0206.10)

• Liver, also for the production of animal feed (0206.22)

• Food preparations with more than 20% beef (excluding sausages of heading 1601 or stuffed pasta of heading 1902) (1602.50)

• Hides and skins (4101, 4104)

• Leather (4107)

Products from/with cocoa

• Cocoa mass (1803)

• Cocoa butter (1804)

• Cocoa powder (1805)

• Food preparations / Chocolate (1806)

Products from/with coffee

• Beans (0901)

• Ground coffee (0901)

• Roasted coffee (0901)

Products from/with palm oil from "Elaeis guineensis"

• Palm kernel oil (1513)

• Oilcakes and other residues (2306.60)

• Glycerin, obtained as a by-product of palm oil (2905.45)

• Pure palmitic acid (2915.70)

• Pure stearic acid (2915.70)

• Pure capric acid (2915.90)

• Pure myristic acid (2915.90)

• Pure lauric acid (2915.90)

• Pure caprylic acid (2915.90)

• The aforementioned acids, technically processed/for industrial purposes (all 3823)

Products from or with natural rubber from "Hevea brasiliensis”

• Rubber mixtures with natural rubber, not vulcanized, in liquid or pasty form, as irregular blocks, pieces, balls, powder, granules, crumbs or in a similar loose form (4005)

• Unvulcanized rubber plates, sheets, strips, and bars, cut or printed, with natural rubber (4005)

• Unvulcanized natural rubber bars, tubes, profiles (other than square or rectangular), discs, rings and gaskets (4006)

• Vulcanized natural rubber threads and cords (4007)

• Soft plates, sheets, and strips of natural rubber, crosswise cut, also printed (4008)

• Soft bars, sticks, and profiles of natural rubber (other than square or rectangular) (4008)

• Conveyor belts and drive belts (also made of fabrics impregnated, coated, coated or laminated with rubber), from vulcanized natural rubber (4010)

• New air tires from natural rubber (4011)

• Air tires from natural rubber, retreaded or used (…) (4012)

• Tubes from natural rubber (4013)

• Clothing and clothing accessories (…) for all purposes, made of soft natural rubber (4016)

• Floor coverings and mats, erasers, seals, boat or dock fenders, air mattresses, cushions and other inflatable articles, water mattresses, elastic bracelets, tobacco bags, letters and numbers for stamps, rubber plugs and rings for storage jars, pump rotors, technical rubber parts for machinery and appliances, vibration dampers, mudguards, brake pads, parts and accessories for vehicles, plates, sheets and strips (other than rectangular), patches and plasters for tubes, hammers with rubber heads, small households such as suction cups, placemats and furniture legs from/with natural rubber (4016)

• Natural hard rubber in all forms, including waste and scrap; goods thereof (4017)

Products made from or with soybeans

• Soybean flour/meal (1208.10)

• Soybean oil (1507)

• Soybean oilcake and other solid residues (2304)

Products made of wood or with wood

• all headings of Chapter 44 (click this direct link)

• Wood pallets sold as standalone product

• Pulp from wood, excluding bamboo products and recovered products (waste/scrap) (Chapter 47)

• Paper (products) made of wood, excluding bamboo products and recovered products(waste/scrap) (Chapter 48)

• Books, newspapers, pictures, graphic products, handwritten or typed documents and plans, from (pulp) wood (e.g. also photographs in wooden frames, wooden panels). (Chapter 49)

• Seating furniture (...), convertible into beds, with parts (no quantitative limitation) from wood (9401)

• Wooden furniture and parts thereof (9403.30, 9403.40, 9403.50, 9403.60, 9403.91), with parts (no quantitative limitation) from wood

• Prefabricated buildings made of wood (9406.10)

🛑 Which similar products are not affected? 🛑

Note: non-exhaustive list

Unaffected products from/with cattle (from the genus Bos, Bibos, Novibos, and Poephagus)

• Offal, not fit for human consumption

• Filled pasta (ravioli, lasagna, cannelloni) filled with beef or beef by-products

• Other food preparations with less than 20% by weight of beef

• Spices with any amounts of beef

• Sausages of heading 1601

• Soups (preparations) with any amounts of beef

Unaffected products made from/with cocoa

• Buttermilk, sour milk, yogurt, kefir and other fermented milk products with cocoa

• Food preparations from flour, semolina, starch, milk powder or milk with less than 40% cocoa

• Pasta, even cooked or filled or prepared with cocoa

• Food from grains, grain grains or flakes with less than 6% cocoa (“chocolate cornflakes”)

• Baked goods like bread, biscuits, cakes, wafers, and waffles, with any amounts of cocoa

• Ice cream, with any amounts of cocoa

• Non-alcoholic beverages with cocoa

• Alcoholic beverages >0.5% alcohol with cocoa

• Medicinal products with cocoa

Unaffected products made from/with coffee

• Coffee wax

• Extracts, essences, and concentrates from coffee (including decaffeinated or with coffee substitutes), liquid or powder, including instant coffee from dried/freeze-dried coffee extract

• Non-alcoholic beverages containing coffee

• Alcoholic beverages with >0.5% alcohol and coffee

• Food preparations containing coffee

Unaffected products made from/with palm oil

• Foods containing palm oil, except pure edible oil

• Washing and cleaning agents with palm oil

Unaffected products made from/with rubber

• All products made from/with synthetic rubber according to HS Note 4 to Chapter 40 (unsaturated synthetic substances, thioplasts, specially modified natural rubber, SBR, XSBR, BR, IIR, CIIR, BIIR, CR, NBR, IR, EPDM, XNBR, NIR)

• All products from/with Balata, Gutta-percha, Guayule, Chicle, Zelutong

Unaffected products made from/with soy

• Cooked or roasted soybeans (e.g. "edamame")

• Other foods from/with soy, except pure edible oil itself, raw soybeans, and soybean flour

Unaffected products made from/with wood

• Scented paper and paper impregnated or coated with cosmetics or soap

• Paper made from 100% recycled pulp

• Paper impregnated with diagnostic or laboratory reagents

• Abrasives applied to paper or cardboard

• Hygiene tissues and tampons, diapers and diaper liners

• Hand tools with a steel working piece and a wooden handle (only if the handle is imported separately, it is subject to Annex I (4404))

• Parts of shoes

• Walking sticks

• Exclusively recognizable parts of electrical and mechanical devices

• Toys

• Wood pallets supplied in a shipment for packaging purposes with goods (without separate billing)

• Operating instructions sent in a shipment with the corresponding product (without separate billing)

I hope this article was helpful for you. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us – we are happy to help!