“A U.S.-headquartered brand whose products end up in the EU is in scope, even if the brand has no EU office, no EU employees, and no EU bank account,” according to gCurv Technologies, based in West Chester, Pa. It sells Packgine packaging regulation compliance software.

“The question is not ‘do we operate in the EU?’ The question is ‘does our packaging reach an EU consumer?’ If the answer is yes, PPWR is your problem,” the company wrote in a blog post.

PPWR defines requirements across the packaging life cycle, from design to recyclability to waste management.

Innrhino, a custom packaging producer based in Taipei, Taiwan, said in a white paper that a U.S. brand may think of packaging as a sourcing issue. “The EU will increasingly treat it as a market access issue. If the brand sells through Amazon, a distributor, a 3PL, a DTC store or an EU importer, someone in the chain will need usable packaging data, proof of responsibility, and documentation that can survive more than a supplier email.”

PPWR applies to all packaging types and is being phased in between 2026 and 2030. For example, PFAS reduction rules started Aug. 12; harmonized labeling rules begin in 2028; recycled content requirements for plastic packaging begin in 2030, as do reuse requirements for most transport packaging.

Who is responsible for making sure a product does not get stopped at the EU border because its package fails to meet PPWR rules?

PPWR defines the product manufacturer as being responsible for the new requirements, including substances of concern in packaging, recyclability and recycled content requirements, packaging minimization, requirements for compostable packaging and labeling, according to Hazel O’Keeffe, a partner in the Brussels office of the U.S. law firm Keller & Heckman.

“If packaging or a packaged product carries a certain name or trademark, it can be assumed that the owner of the name or trademark is the manufacturer for the purpose of PPWR rather than the business operator that physically produces the packaging,” O’Keeffe wrote for Food Processing, like PMM an EndeavorB2B brand. “By contrast, in the case of unmarked packaging, the manufacturer could be either the packaging supplier or the person who places packaged products on the EU market.”

These are the connections between U.S. packaging manufacturers and PPWR.

A packaging producer may not have to deal directly with EU enforcers, but the OEM or brand owner using your packaging will, and your help and certifications will be needed. In fact, PPWR states suppliers “shall provide the manufacturer with all the information and documentation necessary for the manufacturer to demonstrate the conformity of the packaging and the packaging materials with this Regulation.”

For food packaging, under PPWR rules since Aug. 12, that might mean helping the brand owner identify packaging SKUs, collecting materials and substance data to prove heavy metals are within prescribed limits, and creating EU Documents of Conformity and technical descriptions needed for EU audits.

PPWR is still evolving in the sense that implementing instructions are being promulgated as different effective dates near. In May, the EU exempted pallet wraps and straps from the planned 100 percent reuse requirement.

There is another confusing element for U.S. brand owners and packaging manufacturers: Many EU countries have extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws for packaging. While PPWR provides a broad regulatory framework, brands selling into different countries also must comply with each country’s EPR law.

The U.S.-based Flexible Packaging Association declined to comment on the new rules. Plastics Europe, a trade association based in Brussels, said PPWR would spur investments needed to meet Europe’s recycled content targets.

PPWR may cause some consternation for packaging producers in the U.S. as they adapt to the EU’s new rules. It may be worse for packaging producers based in Europe.

But once again, the EU is charting the course for improved recycling, use of more recycled content, better reuse rules and environmentally friendly content restrictions. We are not likely to see anything similar in the U.S. anytime soon.