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AHA working to ensure legal clarity around EUDR acceptance

AHA Statements should provide all the due diligence data, including geolocations, required by EUDR. Nevertheless, to enhance legal clarity, AHA is working with EU industry partners and engaging with EU Member State regulators to encourage a single correction to the legal text and to develop guidance that leaves no doubt that the county-level geolocations supplied through AHA are fully compliant.

U.S. forest industry joint statement on EUDR simplification

Representatives of organisations representing the entire United States forest products supply chain from foresters and forest owners, logging contractors, wood, pulp, and paper manufacturers and exporters, have issued a joint statement calling for simplification of the EUDR to better ensure that it is proportionate to forestry operators in low-risk countries. Like AHA, the joint industry statement is calling for one targeted amendment to the text of the EUDR, to remove the reference to “within a single real estate property” from the “plot of land” definition.

AHA inspires Jodhpur manufacturers

The AHA Platform has drawn a high level of interest from wood products manufacturers in Jodhpur, India, during a visit by a U.S. delegation of hardwood exporters jointly organised by AHEC and the Jodhpur Handicrafts Exporters Association (JHEA). The high level of interest reflects the manufacturers determination to expand their own export sales, particularly in the U.S. and EU, against a background of tightening environmental regulations and sharply declining hardwood availability from their traditional domestic and regional suppliers.

U.S. legal framework dictates need for jurisdictional risk-based approach

When it comes to demonstrating that U.S. hardwoods are legally sourced, many regulators and importers in export markets seem very focused on obtaining specific documents – such as licenses or permits - from their suppliers to confirm that the forest owner has permission to harvest. This expectation seems driven by norms in most European countries and in many tropical countries. In the U.S., the cultural and regulatory background is very different.

Jurisdictional risk assessments show extremely low levels of timber theft

The independently produced AHA jurisdictional risk assessments of 37 hardwood-producing states provide significant insight into forest governance in American hardwood production.

AHA to develop plant chemistry tests to verify future provenance claims

AHA plans to establish a Proof of Provenance (PoP) procedure for hardwood mills, distributors, exporters, and manufacturers to ensure that legal and deforestation-free claims apply only to assured U.S. hardwood. The development and routine use of complementary plant chemistry–based techniques will strengthen the rigour, transparency, and credibility of the AHA system by enabling both internal surveillance and external validation.

Certified Insight #3: How the AHA System Meets Today’s Assurance Needs for U.S. Hardwoods

Global regulatory and market expectations have changed and certification alone, while essential, cannot meet all emerging demands. Nowhere is this more relevant than in the U.S.hardwood sector.

Emerging clarity around EUDR

After weeks of speculation and conflicting news around another possible delay to the date of application of the EU Deforestation Regulation, a clearer picture has emerged now that the European Parliament and Council have agreed on the text of the amendment legislation.

Answering common questions around EUDR guidelines and documentation

The EUDR has raised a critical question for U.S. hardwood exporters: can a statewide risk assessment be used in place of documents for each specific harvest site to confirm negligible illegality risk? Read on for clarification on legality.

Negligible risk of timber theft in 37 hardwood producing states

AHA’s jurisdictional risk assessments, undertaken independently across 37 hardwood producing states using the AHA framework, all concluded that there is substantive evidence that legal structures exist and law enforcement agencies act on reported cases on timber theft. Estimated levels of illegal logging or timber theft of American hardwoods are below 1% of the total supply.

Certified Insight #2: Certification, new pressures and the need for complementary assurance systems

Over the past three decades, forest certification has played a fundamental role in shaping what we collectively understand as sustainable forest management. However global market expectations, regulatory pressures and technological capabilities have changed profoundly since the 1990s. - Ben Gunneberg, Independent Sustainability Advisor to AHA

Proposed EUDR delay should not deter early adoption of AHA Platform

On 23 September 2025, European Commissioner for the Environment, Jessika Roswall, announced that the European Commission is considering a one-year delay to the entry into application of the EUDR, currently scheduled for 30 December 2025. So far, only an informal letter of intent has been sent by the Commission to the EU co-legislators comprising the European Council and Parliament.

Don't get caught out with mapping confusion!

GeoJSON coordinates are ordered as [longitude, latitude] - the format that EUDR requires but the reverse of many other tools.

Certified insight #1: Certification’s lost audience and new hope from risk-based approaches

George White explores why the supply and demand for certified forest areas is off-balance, how the private sector overtook governments in creating certification standards and how we can give recognition to the forests that don’t fit in to the certification box.

AHA to integrate with EUDR Information System

The European Commission delivered on its platform for companies to provide EUDR data by launching the online “Information System” in January 2025. A key objective of American Hardwood Assured (AHA) is to allow U.S. hardwood exporters to quickly and efficiently provide their EU customers with the data they need to enter onto the EU system.

Comprehensive independent assessment confirms negligible illegality risk in U.S. hardwood sector

Probably the most comprehensive series of assessments of the risk of illegal harvesting ever undertaken anywhere in the world has just been completed by American Hardwood Assured (AHA).

Should regulators demand assurance of good forestry practice at a plot or jurisdictional level?

American Hardwood Assured (AHA) is developing an approach to good forestry assurance which can help resolve one of the key debates over the most effective concept: should assessment be at a plot or jurisdictional level?

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