WDK renews call for 'first-touch' principle in EUDR

Frankfurt, Germany – The German rubber industry has urged that the planned postponement (ERJ report) of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) be used to make compliance more practical and less bureaucratic. 

“The German government should now strongly advocate introducing the ‘first-touch principle’,” said Michael Klein, president of the German Rubber Industry Association (WDK) 24 Sept.

Under the proposal, only the first company in the European value chain of EUDR-relevant products would be required to file a due diligence declaration in the information system.

“This solution would be extremely elegant and would serve all sides,” Klein stated, adding that repeated submissions of due diligence declarations by each actor in the chain will “cause high bureaucratic costs” for companies.

Restricting the obligation to a single declaration “would drastically reduce” the burden, he added.

Klein noted that such a step would also cut the workload for EU and member state authorities by lowering the demand for controls and IT infrastructure. “It would be a win-win situation for everyone,” he said.

“If the German government and the European Union are really serious about reducing bureaucracy, the introduction of the ‘first-touch principle’ in the EUDR is an excellent opportunity to achieve a first important success here,” he concluded.