Deforestation-free supply chains
A key element of the European Green Deal, the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free products (EUDR), is an attempt to reduce the EU’s contribution to global deforestation while paving the way for more sustainable supply chains, and reinforcing cooperation with partner countries on joint challenges surrounding deforestation. The EUDR requires companies trading certain commodities, like cocoa and coffee, in the EU to ensure, through due diligence, that products are legal under their country of origin's laws and are deforestation-free as defined by the EU Regulation.
In December 2025, the EU co-legislators agreed to delay the implementation of the law. Large operators and traders will have to apply the regulation from 30 December 2026, and small operators – private individuals and enterprises with under 50 employees and an annual turnover related to the products concerned of less than €10 million – from 30 June 2027.
Our View
Throughout the legislative process of the file, the FTAO has supported the overall ambitions of the law. However, we have also continuously stressed that the Regulation can only achieve its objective of reducing levels of global deforestation if it is aligned with the realities of smallholder farmers, and does not result in their exclusion from the EU market. Specifically, the key demands the FTAO has been advocating for, both in its various coalitions and with decision-makers, are:
- Conducting a timely assessment of the impacts that this law will have on smallholder farmers, particularly with regard to compliance costs across the different commodities and regions affected.
- On the basis of such an assessment, the EU institutions, coupled with the private sector, should provide adequate financial and capacity support to ensure that the cost of compliance does not get pushed down to smallholder farmers.
- Tackling the root causes of deforestation, such as farmer poverty and the imbalance of power in global supply chains, through targeted, multilateral and incentive-based actions.
Get in Touch
Need more information? Contact our policy expert!
Virginia Enssle, International & Institutional Relations Manager
enssle@fairtrade-advocacy.orgFurther Reading
EU and operators must use the EUDR delay to deliver urgent support for smallholder farmers
No rollbacks against deforestation: The FTAO calls for fair and timely EUDR implementation that supports producers
Joint letter to the European Commission: Ensuring EUDR benchmarking reflects human rights and environmental risks
FTAO Statement on Proposed EPP Amendments to EUDR Proposal
FTAO calls on the European Commission and the Council to strongly oppose amendments to the EUDR and work towards a compromise based on the original legislative text
FTAO statement on the EUDR 1-year delay proposal
Compliance costs of cocoa cooperatives in the Ivory Coast with the EU Deforestation Regulation
