My manufacturer is located outside the EU — who arranges the digital product passport then?

What you must do concretely

What is expected of you

A manufacturer outside the EU may not independently, directly from a third country, place a digital product passport on the European market and arrange nothing else. Once the product reaches the EU market, there must be someone within the EU who can be held accountable for the obligations associated with that passport. Who that is depends on how the product crosses the border.

Determining who within the EU is responsible

There are two routes by which a non-EU manufacturer resolves this: via an importer who places the product on the EU market in its own name, or via an authorised representative whom the manufacturer specifically designates for the tasks related to the digital product passport. This is not a discretionary choice that can remain hidden in a contract — for a company of 10 to 100 employees, this often means that the first step is to determine in which of the two roles its own company falls. A company that brings in products from outside the EU and places them on the market is not automatically merely a "purchaser": the ESPR has its own definition of importer, and this may differ from how the role is described in the trade agreement. Uncertainty on this point is precisely where the article Am I an importer or manufacturer according to the ESPR? addresses.

Designating an authorised representative

Article 28 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) describes the possibility for a manufacturer outside the EU to designate an authorised representative who performs tasks on behalf of that manufacturer in the field of the digital product passport. For a company of 10 to 100 employees acting as an EU party with such a manufacturer, this means that it must be clear whether such an authorised representative exists, who that is, and which tasks have been specifically transferred. An authorised representative is not automatically required in every situation — whether one is needed, and what it does and does not handle, is set out in do I need a mandated representative in the EU for the product passport.

Complying with the importer's obligations

Article 29 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) imposes obligations on the importer when it places the product of the non-EU manufacturer on the EU market. For a company in that position, this means in practice that it must be verified that the digital product passport is present, that the data in it matches the product, and that the manufacturer outside the EU keeps the required technical documentation available. The importer bears its own responsibility here, separate from what the manufacturer claims to have done. What that responsibility exactly entails and where it ends is described in Who is responsible for the product passport for products?.

Recording your own name and contact details on the product

Both the importer and the authorised representative appear with name and contact details on the product or the accompanying documentation. For a company of this size, this means that there must be a fixed, up-to-date set of details that is used consistently everywhere — on the passport, on the product and in the records. When the importer or distributor changes, or when the company name changes, this is a detail that is easily overlooked while the passport is already live.

Where things go wrong in practice

A first situation that often occurs: an EU company orders directly from a factory in Asia and assumes that "the supplier will arrange the passport", while that same EU party is itself the importer according to the ESPR definition and thus itself bears the obligations of Article 29.

A second situation: an authorised representative has been designated, but the designation was agreed verbally or is only mentioned in an email. Once a question arises about which party has taken on which task, there is nothing in writing to fall back on.

A third situation: the manufacturer outside the EU provides a passport, but the technical documentation behind it remains in the country of origin, out of reach of the EU importer. If then asked to produce that documentation, there is no one within the EU who can supply it quickly.

A fourth situation: the product is sold via an intermediary on an online marketplace, and no one in the chain feels responsible because "the marketplace" or "the manufacturer" will have arranged it anyway. What a sale via a platform means for these obligations is explained in What does the digital product passport mean if I sell products via an online marketplace?.

A fifth situation: the product is placed on the market under its own brand name, while the production and initial setup of the product passport are carried out by a manufacturer outside the EU. The question of who then formally qualifies as the manufacturer — the party that applies the brand, or the party that manufactures — regularly leads to unclear situations, which is further addressed in I sell products under my own brand — what obligations do I incur?.

What you can document

• A written authorization from the authorized representative, stating exactly which tasks related to the product passport have been delegated and which have not.
• An overview of your own role in the chain — manufacturer, importer, or both for different product lines — with the substantiation of that choice.
• A fixed set of company data (name, address, contact details) that is consistently used on the passport, the product and in correspondence with the manufacturer outside the EU.
• An agreement with the manufacturer regarding where the technical documentation is kept and how it can be requested within a reasonable timeframe.
• A checklist to verify with each delivery that the product passport is present and matches the delivered product, before it proceeds further into the chain.
• A documented procedure for what happens when the manufacturer, authorized representative, or importer changes, so that the passport does not remain linked to a disappeared contact person.