EU changes its EUDR product list: what UK retailers should recheck
New entries, exclusions and different start dates: check coffee, palm-oil soaps, leather and wood products against the revised deforestation rules before setting your preparation deadline.
- Who this affects
- UK businesses supplying EU customers with products potentially covered by EUDR, particularly the amended coffee, palm-oil, leather, rubber and wood entries.
- Seller action
- Check before sending affected goods
Recheck the exact product code and materials against the amended Annex I, agree responsibilities with the EU importer and record the applicable product and operator deadline.
- Effective dates / current position
- Product-list amendment enters into force: — In forceDeferred new product entries apply: — Upcoming—not yet in forceTiming follows the confirmed published schedule; it is not a fresh legal review. These milestones concern the product-list amendment and its deferred new entries, not the general EUDR operator deadlines. Read the article for the separate December 2026 and June 2027 dates. Brussels time is the EU-wide display convention. Date-only changes use the calendar day in Europe/Brussels.
- Last reviewed
- 17 Sept 2026 — an editorial source check, separate from automatic timing.
- Official source
- Open the primary source ↗
What has the EU published?
Regulation (EU) 2026/2102, published on 17 September 2026, changes Annex I of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). This annex is the legal list of covered products. It adds certain products, removes others and clarifies exclusions.
For UK retailers, the practical task is to compare the actual product and its EU commodity code with the updated list. A broad description such as “coffee”, “leather” or “wood” is not enough.
Examples worth checking
- Soluble coffee: coffee extracts, essences and concentrates under 2101 11 00 are added, with application from 30 December 2027. This does not move the date for coffee already covered by EUDR.
- Certain palm-oil-based soaps: specified products under ex 3401 11 00 and ex 3401 20 are added from 30 December 2027. Check the ingredients and legal exclusions; not every soap is covered.
- Specified cattle hides and leather: entries ex 4101, ex 4104 and ex 4107 are removed. This is not a statement that every product described as leather was previously covered.
- Some used wood products: the revised entries expressly exclude used or second-hand products, including under the wooden tableware and kitchenware entry ex 4419. Check the individual entry rather than assuming a blanket exemption for all second-hand goods.
“Ex” means only part of the classification is covered. The amendment contains other changes, including specific rubber products and palm-oil derivatives; these examples are not the full list.
Does the outer parcel packaging count?
The revised wood and paper entries distinguish packaging sold as a product from packaging used exclusively to support, protect or carry another product and presented with it. An outer carton protecting the order is not the same as selling cartons as the order itself. Follow the conditions in the relevant entry.
The amendment also excludes narrowly defined samples and testing goods. Simply writing “sample” on a normal sale does not qualify: the legal conditions cover value, quantity, permitted use and, for testing, what happens to the goods afterwards.
Keep the dates separate
- 18 September 2026: this product-list amendment enters into force.
- 30 December 2026: the general EUDR application date for large and medium operators, and micro/small operators already covered by the EU Timber Regulation.
- 30 June 2027: the general date for other micro and small operators.
- 30 December 2027: the specific deferred date for the newly added coffee and soap entries described above, and other additions expressly marked with that date.
Entry into force of the amendment does not make all EUDR shipment obligations apply on 18 September. Equally, the later date for newly added products is not a postponement for goods already covered.
What should a UK business do now?
- Recheck the catalogue. Record the code, materials and relevant Annex I entry for each potentially affected product.
- Agree who does what. Identify the business placing the goods on the EU market. Obligations depend on its role; a UK supplier may need to provide production and traceability information to its EU customer.
- Ask suppliers early. Establish whether they can provide the information needed for covered commodities, including production locations where required.
- Confirm customs arrangements. When applicable, the declarant needs the relevant due-diligence statement reference or simplified declaration identifier before lodging the customs declaration. Product references and EUDR references are different things.
- Record the right deadline. Do not give every product the same date or treat a small parcel value as proof of exemption.
For Great Britain-to-Northern Ireland movements, also read the separate Northern Ireland parcel guidance. Do not assume that the EU import process and the UK Carrier Scheme are identical.