Please use this page in conjunction with the official Guidance and the published FAQs. These resources should be read alongside the EUDR legal text.
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How is the EU working with other countries on EUDR?
The EUDR does not impose direct obligations on producers in non-EU countries, unless they are directly placing products on the EU market.
However, producers and companies outside the EU may still be asked by EU-based companies to share information on product legality and geolocations of where products were grown, harvested or raised. In addition, under the EUDR, all countries receive a classification of deforestation risk, referred to as ‘country benchmarking’.
The EU works with other countries to:
- ensure a shared understanding of the EUDR, including the benchmarking process;
- provide guidance for producers, including smallholders, on the geolocation and legality data that they may be asked for by buyers; and
- support the global transition to sustainable, deforestation-free value chains.
Through the global Team Europe Initiative on Deforestation-free Value Chains, the EU and its Member States have mobilized EUR 81.5 million in dedicated funding to tackle deforestation and support key stakeholders in supply chains, including smallholder farmers, in more than 26 countries. To learn more about how the EU is working with partner countries, visit the Team Europe Initiative on Deforestation-free Value Chains.
For further information on the EUDR in relation to non-EU countries, see FAQs, including FAQs 1.30, 3.7, 3.10.2, 6.6 and 6.7.
What is the EUDR benchmarking?
The EUDR benchmarking system classifies each country as high, standard, or low risk. The classification reflects how likely it is that EUDR-relevant commodities or products have been produced on deforested land. It facilitates a risk-based approach of due diligence and enforcement efforts.
This classification is applied to all countries, including EU Member States, and is a core requirement mandated in Article 29 of the Regulation. The benchmarking is rooted in fairness, objectivity and transparency and is based on an assessment of quantitative and qualitative criteria. The assessment uses internationally recognised data from the Global Forest Resources Assessment dataset produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The initial country classification was adopted in 2025 through Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1093.
For further information on the benchmarking methodology, see the 2024 Annex to the Strategic Framework on International Cooperation, in Staff Working Document (2025)129, and see FAQs, including FAQs 6.1-6.10.
Find country risk classifications
Click here to access the classifications.
What do the different risk classifications mean for EUDR implementation?
The country benchmarking enables EU Member States’ Competent Authorities to monitor and enforce compliance effectively.
Country risk classifications guide the number of compliance checks carried out by Competent Authorities. Fewer checks are required on operators sourcing from low risk-countries, or for relevant products sourced from low-risk countries. The greatest scrutiny applies to operators sourcing from high-risk countries, or products sourced from high-risk countries.
Operators sourcing relevant products from countries classified as low-risk may conduct simplified due diligence, if they are certain that all of the relevant products were produced in low-risk countries, and have not undergone any mixing with high-risk, standard-risk or unknown origin products. An operator conducting simplified due diligence must still collect information demonstrating the compliance of its products, but does not need to conduct a full risk assessment or take risk mitigation measures.
To learn more about due diligence see the Understand due diligence webpage.
How can countries and other stakeholders feed into the process?
Countries are not required to share information with the EU for the benchmarking process, but any country may choose to share relevant information at any stage, regardless of whether it is already in dialogue with the EU. The Commission engages with numerous countries, particularly those with high levels of trade with the EU in EUDR-relevant products.
In addition, the Regulation obligates the Commission to engage in dialogue with any countries classified as, or at risk of being classified as, high-risk.
The Multi-Stakeholder Platform on Deforestation is open to representatives of partner countries and EU Member States. Summary records of previous meetings, including updates on the benchmarking process, are available in the Register of Commission Expert Groups.
For more information on how the EUDR applies to you
Read the FAQs and the Guidance, or contact your Member State Competent Authority.