If you've been following the news out of the European Union, you may have caught an update relating to its Deforestation Regulation (EUDR):

BRUSSELS, Sept 23 (Reuters) - The European Union will delay launching its anti-deforestation law for a second time, Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall said on Tuesday, postponing the ban on imports of commodities such as palm oil linked to forest destruction for another year.

The publishing industry has been busily preparing for the implementation of EUDR since it came into force in June 2023, as “wood” is one of the commodities identified in the legislation it would impact paper products.

Roswall told reporters the postponement was necessary to address concerns about the readiness of information-technology systems needed to support the law … "We have concern[s] regarding the IT system, given the amount of information that we put into the system ... That will ... also give us time to look at the different risks," she said.

FAQ

With this update on the horizon, we wanted to take the moment to address some frequently asked questions:

What has the Canadian government’s response been?

In their relaying of the news, Natural Resources Canada issued the following statement:

On September 23, 2025, EU Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall informed the Chair of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee, Antonio Decaro, and the Danish Presidency of the Council, of the European Commission’s intention to delay implementation of the EUDR by one year.

Any amendment, including a delay or simplification, will need to proceed through the EU’s trilogue process — requiring agreement by the Commission, Parliament, and Council. This is the same process used for the previous delay in Fall 2024, which created uncertainty until the decision was officially confirmed just prior to the compliance deadline.

At this stage, industry and provinces/territories should be aware that:

The Commission’s statement signals an intention, but the delay is not yet formalized.
The possibility of regulatory simplifications is on the table, though details are not yet defined.
The timing of the trilogue process may mean a period of uncertainty for exporters until a final decision is adopted.

We will continue to follow developments closely and share updates as more information becomes available.

If the EU does proceed with the delay, which dates will be impacted?

The announcement only referenced a delay to the implementation date of December 30, 2025 (the date when EUDR’s rules begin to apply for medium and large operators and traders, with June 30, 2026 being the date when the rules begin to apply for micro and small enterprises), with no indication that the other important dates in the legislation will be adjusted. Those important dates include:

December 31, 2020 - after this date, importers to the EU must demonstrate that there was no deforestation/forest degradation associated with the imported item
June 29, 2023 - products produced before this date must only comply with European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR), until December 31, 2028, when it then falls under EUDR
June 29, 2023 - products produced after this date must comply with EUDR

In other words, a delay in the implementation date doesn't change the internal dates for compliance within the legislation. Those stand and are not expected to change.

What does BookNet recommend?

As the delay has not yet been formalized, and there are three months before the current implementation date of December 30, 2025, BookNet recommends that publishers exporting to the European Union continue to operate under the assumption that the current dates for EUDR’s implementation apply. Moreover, if the delay is formalized and the documentation updated, BookNet encourages publishers to continue to prepare for the legislation, and use the additional time to develop rigorous supply chain workflows to support the dynamic exchange of products and data into the EU. Publishers should endeavour to have the necessary conversations with supply chain partners as soon as possible to increase confidence levels and knowledge as it pertains to the expectations of importers to the EU. BookNet’s Bibliographic Manager Tom Richardson flags that, “a foreign [i.e., Canadian] company's success in placing a book into the EU likely depends on their EU trading partner's ability to articulate their needs.” The delay, if finalized, will provide welcome additional time for necessary communications.

Recall that the delay announced in October 2024 for the original implementation date was only confirmed December 19, 2024, less than two weeks before the expected deadline. Failure to prepare could have had disastrous effects!