Key Focus for Foreign Trade Enterprises: New E-Documents Regulations and the EU Deforestation Regulation

Several major trade policies and regulations have recently been implemented. Foreign trade companies should prioritize compliance with the following three requirements.

1. New Electronic Document Regulations (Effective 9 Month 1)

The "Regulations on Promoting and Standardizing the Application of Electronic Documents," jointly issued by ten domestic departments, came into effect on 2026 year 9 month 1.

Core Content:

• Promote the use of electronic bills of lading and electronic manifests in cross-border trade.
• Gradually reduce paper document circulation
• Reduce documentation processing costs and boost customs clearance efficiency

Enterprise Impact:Foreign trade enterprises can gradually replace paper documents with electronic ones to shorten document processing time and reduce operational costs.

II. EU Deforestation-Free Regulation (Effective 12 month 30)

The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) will officially take effect on 2026/12/30, imposing strict supply chain traceability requirements for relevant product categories exported to the EU.

Categories involved:

• Wood and Wood Products
• Rubber and rubber products
• Soybeans and soy products
• Beef
• Palm oil
• Cocoa and cocoa products

Compliance requirements:Exporting the above product categories to the EU requires complete supply chain traceability documentation proving no deforestation. Products that do not meet these requirements will be barred from the EU market.

Enterprise Recommendation:Exporters in the above categories should immediately begin EUDR compliance preparations and establish a complete supply chain traceability system.

III. Promotion of the "Single Document System" for Multimodal Transport in Customs

China's customs authorities are promoting the "single-document" multimodal transport model to enable one-time declaration and seamless end-to-end processing. This will streamline export clearance for inland enterprises by eliminating redundant declaration steps.

IV. Comprehensive Recommendations

We recommend that foreign trade companies closely monitor the implementation progress of the policies and regulations mentioned above, and promptly adjust their business processes and compliance frameworks. The FortunaLink Customs Declaration Team is ready to provide professional policy consulting and compliance guidance services.