EU RD: Provisional ranking of countries by risk of deforestation is published
On 22 May 2025, the European Commission published a first provisional version of the classification of countries according to their level of risk of deforestation. This first classification, although not final (the final version is expected by 30 June 2025), is an important step for the competent authorities and economic operators. It conditions both the level of regulatory control and the degree of due diligence to which operators are subject.
After this first classificationapproximately 70% of the countries assessed are classified at risk « low »4 countries are classified at risk « high » North Korea, Belarus, Russia and Myanmar. The majority of Latin American countries, a large part of the African continent and the Indonesian archipelago are in the risk category « Standard ».
This classification has concrete consequences at two levels:
- For checks carried out by the competent authorities, since the classification determines the percentage of operators checked:
- 1% of operators in low-risk countries
- 3% for standard risk countries
- 9% of operators in high-risk countries.
- For operators' obligations
Operators' obligations are eased when they supply in low-risk countries. The regulation provides for the possibility for operators to use simplified due diligence under certain conditions. The operator is then exempted from conducting risk analysis and implementing mitigation measures. It shall only collect and retain the information required by Article 9.
For standard or high risk countries, the operator must implement all due diligence obligations.
However, we remind you that the latest version of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), published four weeks ago, also specifies the level of obligation depending on your position in the value chain. Simplifications exist for certain categories of actors.
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