Understanding EUDR
The EU Deforestation Regulation, in plain terms.
Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 makes the operator that places goods on the EU market answerable for whether those goods came from deforested land — using origin data collected far upstream, by someone else. This is what it asks for, and where the liability sits.
What it is
A due-diligence obligation, not a certificate.
EUDR does not ask you to hold a label. It asks you to prove, plot by plot, that a commodity was not grown on land deforested after the cut-off — and to keep the evidence.
Deforestation-free
Goods must be free from deforestation, defined against a fixed cut-off date rather than a moving target.
Geolocated to the plot
Each consignment must be tied to the geolocation of the plots of land it was produced on.
Due Diligence Statement
The operator files a Due Diligence Statement through the EU system (TRACES) before placing goods on the market.
The timeline
How the dates fit together
The cut-off is retroactive: it predates the regulation itself. Enforcement is phased — always check the current official text for the dates that apply to you.
31 Dec 2020
Deforestation cut-off
The baseline. A plot cleared of forest after this date does not qualify, regardless of when the goods are traded.
2023
Regulation adopted
Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 enters into force, setting the due-diligence obligation on operators.
Phased
Application begins
Obligations apply on a phased schedule, with different timing for larger operators and for SMEs. Confirm the dates in the official text.
Ongoing
Evidence retained
Due-diligence records must be kept for years after filing, ready for a competent-authority audit.
Where the liability sits
You answer for the plot, even though you never saw it.
The obligation falls on the operator placing goods on the EU market — not on the cooperative, union, or exporter that collected the plot data upstream. If a plot in your consignment fails, the exposure is yours: goods can be held, and penalties can reach a share of EU turnover.
- The operator carries the due-diligence obligation, not the upstream supplier
- Non-compliant consignments can be blocked from the market
- Penalties can reach up to 4% of EU turnover
What is in scope
Seven commodities, and the products made from them.
EUDR covers a defined list of commodities and their derivatives. TruSource runs coffee and cocoa in production today, and is built for the rest of the list.
Live on TruSource
Coffee and cocoa are screened and filed in production today.
The wider list
The regulation also covers cattle, wood, rubber, soya, and oil palm, plus products derived from them.
Derivatives count
Processed goods made from listed commodities fall in scope too — the obligation follows the material.
How TruSource helps
From a farm boundary to a defensible statement.
TruSource holds the record behind a consignment — the farms, the lots, the shipment, and the documents — runs the checks the regulation implies, and assembles the Due Diligence Statement from what that record holds. You file it in the EU system; TruSource makes sure the evidence behind it is complete and cannot then be quietly changed.
- Deforestation screening through FAO Whisp — JRC GFC2020 at the 31 December 2020 cutoff, GFW RADD for change after it
- The geolocation of every farm, exported as the GeoJSON file the EU system asks for
- Filing freezes each boundary, document, and check the statement relies on, for the five years you must keep it
Bring a real shipment. See where it stands.
The fastest way to understand your EUDR exposure is to run a consignment you already have through the checks.