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For CBAM and the European Supply Chain Directive (CSDDD), it had already been signaled throughout 2025 that adjustments to the underlying rules would be made. For the EUDR, which was actually supposed to apply from the end of the year, discussions about a further postponement had been ongoing since autumn. In the final weeks of 2025, the EU legislative bodies reached agreement and enacted the expected adjustments shortly before the turn of the year:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. CBAM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n After more than two years of transitional period, CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) entered its definitive period on 1 January 2026. The carbon border adjustment mechanism is intended, through the pricing of certain goods in connection with their importation, to prevent the relocation of production of CO2-intensive goods to third countries. The basic legal framework is Regulation (EU) 2023\/956<\/strong><\/a> (CBAM Regulation). Article 4 of this Regulation provides that, with the start of the definitive period, that is from 1 January 2026<\/strong>, goods may only be imported into the customs territory of the Union by an authorised CBAM declarant<\/strong>. Regulation (EU) 2025\/489<\/a><\/strong>, published in March 2025 for this purpose, governs the conditions and procedure for authorisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In parallel, the EU Commission worked to simplify CBAM overall and proposed adjustments to the legislative bodies involved, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. The result is Regulation (EU) 2025\/2083<\/a><\/strong>, which brings significant relief for numerous importers of goods subject to CBAM from the start of the definitive period:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This Regulation introduced a mass-based threshold<\/strong>, under which affected importers are only subject to the CBAM framework and required to hold authorised CBAM declarant status if the total net mass of all CBAM goods imported per importer per calendar year exceeds 50 tonnes <\/strong>(the so-called de minimis exemption, Article 2a in conjunction with Annex VII). This value will be reviewed annually by the EU Commission on the basis of a calendar year’s import data and adjusted if necessary. The value is intended to ensure that at least 99% of the embedded emissions (direct and indirect emissions) associated with imported goods continue to fall within the scope of CBAM, and that the de minimis exemption applies to no more than 1% of the embedded emissions associated with imported goods. Analysis of the data from the transitional period had shown that only a small number of importers are responsible for the bulk of the emissions. According to the EU Commission’s assessment, the exemption will significantly reduce the number of companies affected by CBAM and will particularly relieve the burden on small and medium-sized enterprises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Numerous further simplifications were adopted. The following are particularly relevant for companies:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shortly before the turn of the year, on 22 and 31 December 2025, numerous regulations supplementing the CBAM framework were enacted in the Official Journal of the EU. A good overview is available on the GTAI website<\/a><\/strong>. Publication of further regulations is still pending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note for practice: 2. CSDDD<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Directive (EU) 2024\/1760 on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (the “EU Supply Chain Directive” or, in short, CSDDD) was also, in 2025, the subject of the EU Commission’s so-called Omnibus Initiative, which aimed to create simplifications for rules in the area of sustainability. EU directives require transposition into national law. In Germany, a law on corporate due diligence obligations relating to the supply chain is already in force, the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz<\/em>, LkSG), which will be adapted to the requirements of the Directive. The legislative actors at EU level agreed on 9 December 2025 on the key adjustments, which the European Parliament had already approved on 16 December. However, the Council’s approval and publication of the amending Directive in the Official Journal of the EU are still pending. The following can nevertheless be gathered from the advance publications:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note for practice: 3. EUDR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, the Regulation on deforestation-free supply chains (EU Deforestation Regulation, EUDR) was also relaxed shortly before the end of the year, and its application start date was postponed once again. The Regulation bringing these changes into force (Regulation (EU) 2025\/2650<\/a><\/strong>) was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 23 December 2025 (!); the start of application was actually supposed to be 30 December 2025 (!). It will now apply to medium-sized and large companies from 30 December 2026, and to micro and small enterprises from 30 June 2027. In Annex I, the list of affected goods was reduced by removing the item “ex 49 books, newspapers, pictures and other products of the printing industry, manuscripts, typescripts and plans.” For companies that will continue to fall under the EUDR, relief has been created in that only operators who place relevant products on the market or export them are required to submit a due diligence statement. Within the new category of “downstream operators,” only the first downstream operator or trader must record and retain the reference number of the original due diligence statement. A further category of affected economic operators has been created, that of micro or small primary operators. These must submit a simplified declaration and, if established in a low-risk country, now have the choice of stating the address of the plots of land or holdings on which, or using which, the relevant raw materials contained in the relevant product, or used in its production, were produced, instead of precise geolocation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note for practice: We will keep you informed of further developments on these topics. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
In practice<\/strong>, it should be noted that all importers<\/strong> of goods subject to CBAM (Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2023\/956) must observe the correct coding <\/strong>on import (see ATLAS Info 0881\/2025<\/a><\/strong>). Importers falling under the de minimis exemption must also code this accordingly as part of the import customs declaration. Importers of relevant goods must keep track of whether the threshold is exceeded during the course of the year <\/strong>and, if applicable, submit a timely application for authorisation as an authorised CBAM declarant in order to prevent an import ban. If the threshold is exceeded during the course of the year, the importer becomes subject to all obligations under the CBAM Regulation in respect of all embedded emissions for the calendar year in question (Article 2a(2) CBAM Regulation).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Since the current Federal Government has stated in its coalition agreement that it will transpose the CSDDD into the national LkSG “with a low administrative burden and in an enforcement-friendly manner,” it can probably be assumed that, once adapted to the CSDDD, the LkSG will no longer go beyond the requirements of the EU Directive. As a result, considerably fewer companies will fall under the law in future. Nevertheless, companies currently subject to the LkSG should note that it remains in force. The supervisory authority, however, the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA), has been instructed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs to act “with restraint and in a business-friendly manner” in applying the LkSG (see Schlagbaum 09\/2025<\/a><\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>The renewed postponement gives the companies affected more time to prepare for the obligations they must comply with under the Regulation. At the same time, fewer companies will be subject to the obligation to obtain the information required for the due diligence statement. Companies should carefully review which obligations now apply to them and adapt the processes they had already put in place for the originally planned entry into force at the end of 2025 and the stricter requirements. The removal of paper and printed products in particular provides significant practical relief for companies in the printing and publishing industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n