PackProof · US sellers
If you place packaged goods on an EU market — even as a small or non-EU seller — member states require you to register for packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), pay eco-contributions, report volumes, and increasingly label & design for recycling. Marketplaces suppress listings without an EPR number, and the EU PPWR phases in new rules from Aug 2026.
🌍 Short answer: Being based in the United States doesn't put you outside EU law. The EU's rules apply based on whether you offer goods or services to people in the EU — not on where your business is registered. If EU customers can buy from you, you're generally in scope.
There's no US carve-out: a US business selling into the EU is treated like any other for these rules. You may also have US equivalents (e.g. state privacy laws), but those are separate obligations from the EU rule on this page.
As a US seller, this rule generally applies once you ship physical products in packaging to customers in the EU and sell to, ship to, or target customers in the EU. Ship to the EU? You likely must register for packaging EPR, pay eco-fees, label for sorting, and meet the new PPWR. Not sure? The free checker tells you in about a minute — no signup.
If you're in scope, you need to be able to answer "yes" to each of these — the points sellers most often get caught on:
⚠️ Exposure: EPR registration fees + member-state fines · Status: EPR in force · PPWR from 2026. EU regulators can act against non-EU sellers who reach EU customers.
Compare the penalty for every rule →
Being based in the United States doesn't put you outside EU law. The EU's rules apply based on whether you offer goods or services to people in the EU — not on where your business is registered. If EU customers can buy from you, you're generally in scope.
Usually yes. If you place packaged goods on an EU market — including via Amazon/Etsy from outside the EU — member states require producer registration and eco-fees, and many require an authorised representative. Marketplaces enforce it by asking for EPR numbers.
The EU Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (Reg. (EU) 2025/40) entered into force in 2025 and generally applies from 12 August 2026, with recyclability, labelling and reduction rules phasing in toward 2030.
Register with each country's packaging scheme, get your EPR number(s), report your packaging volumes by material, pay the eco-contributions, label packaging for sorting where required (e.g. France's Triman), and design packaging to be recyclable and minimal.
RuleGoose checks this against EU packaging EPR (Waste Framework Directive + national schemes) and the PPWR, Reg. (EU) 2025/40. Read it yourself: EUR-Lex — Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR) →
or get one RuleGoose Score across every EU rule that reaches your business.
EU packaging & EPR is one of several EU rules that can reach a US business. See the full EU compliance guide for US sellers →, or read the platform-neutral EU packaging & EPR guide.
Informational only, not legal advice, and not affiliated with the EU. Territorial scope can be fact-specific — confirm against the cited source. Last reviewed 2026-06-30.