Hides, skins and leather have been formally excluded from the scope of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), a decision the European tanning industry’s umbrella body COTANCE described as a historic victory. The exclusion took effect on September 14, 2026.
COTANCE said the outcome followed two years of evidence-based engagement by the organisation, its national associations and leather industry groups worldwide. The group had argued that hides and leather are by-products of the meat industry rather than a driver of deforestation, and had pushed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to remove HS Chapter 41 products from the regulation’s Annex I.
Supporting that case, COTANCE pointed to research showing raw hides account for only 1.50% of a bovine’s total value at the abattoir. A study commissioned by COTANCE and Italian tanning body UNIC, carried out by the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies at the University of Pisa using more than 94 million data records, found no scientific evidence linking leather to deforestation, the organisation said.
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COTANCE had also warned that keeping leather inside the EUDR’s scope risked putting European tanneries at a competitive disadvantage, since products made with EU leather would have faced compliance requirements while non-EU leather would not.
COTANCE President Manuel Rios called the ruling “a historic day for every tannery, every worker, and every stakeholder” who backed the industry’s case.
Secretary General Edoardo De Paola said the group would keep prioritising sourcing standards despite the exemption, noting tanners “do not have the economic leverage to enforce EUDR requirements on cattle breeders” since hides are a livestock by-product.
The campaign had drawn support beyond Europe: earlier this year the International Council of Tanners, joined by the International Meat Secretariat and the International Union of Hides, Skins and Leather Trade Associations, wrote to Brussels urging removal of leather from Annex I, calling it “a low hanging fruit” for regulatory simplification. COTANCE Secretary General Gustavo Gonzalez-Quijano had said at the time that the industry needed to “stand united to ensure that science prevails.”
The EUDR includes a review clause for 2030, and COTANCE said it will continue monitoring leather’s regulatory status. The rule, designed to curb imports linked to forest loss, still covers commodities including cattle, soy, palm oil, wood, cocoa, coffee and rubber.