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Which Regulations Apply to My Product?

The first week of a new market usually goes to research. Someone opens a spreadsheet, types "what certificates do I need to sell kettles in Germany", and wades through government sites, lab blogs and forum threads. A week later they have forty tabs open, two conflicting answers, and no decision.

There's a shorter way. It takes about ten minutes, and it works for every market, every product. This post is the method.

The three questions

Every compliance question reduces to three things: where you sell, what you sell, and who sells it.

Where. The market defines the rulebook. A Bluetooth speaker sold in the US needs FCC; in the EU it needs CE marking under the Radio Equipment Directive plus RoHS; in China, CCC and SRRC; in Saudi Arabia, the G-Mark plus SABER; in Brazil, INMETRO and ANATEL. Same product, five different certificates, because the borders are what change.

What. The product category decides which frameworks inside that market apply. A wooden chair and a smartphone share almost no obligations even in the same market — the chair meets EUDR and GPSR, the phone meets RED and the battery regulation. Category is half the answer.

Who. Your role matters too. Are you the manufacturer, the importer, the private-label brand or a reseller? Each carries a different slice of the same obligations, and getting your role wrong is how small brands end up holding certificates they didn't know they needed.

Ten minutes, in practice

Run those three questions against your product line, then check the answers against a structured source. The Sustalium compliance map works exactly this way: pick your territories and industry, and it lists the frameworks that apply, with the penalties for skipping them shown alongside.

Two examples from real product categories show how different the answers get. A wooden chair exported from Portugal to the EU, US and UK pulls in EUDR, GPSR, Lacey Act, TSCA, UKCA and Prop 65 — mostly wood, chemicals and safety rules. A Bluetooth speaker going from California to the US, EU, China, Brazil, Mexico and Saudi Arabia pulls in FCC, CE plus RED plus RoHS, CCC, G-Mark, INMETRO and NOM — a completely different list. The map produces that difference in a minute instead of a week.

Why guessing costs money

Every missed framework is a shipment risk. Goods held at the border cost storage and demurrage; a suppressed marketplace listing costs revenue while you scramble; a buyer's blocked onboarding costs the deal. We've written about the mechanics of those failures in the dropshipper guide and about the mindset problem in the stop-overthinking post.

The fix is the same in every case: find out what applies before the shipment is booked, not after it's held. Ten minutes on the front end is the cheapest compliance work you'll ever do.

How Sustalium Helps with Discovery

  • The compliance map — pick territories and industry, get the framework list per market, with penalties shown alongside.
  • One record per product — once you know what applies, the same product data feeds every framework on the list.
  • No re-research per market — the map's answers become the product record's structure, so market two doesn't start from zero.

Don't Research Your Obligations. Look Them Up.

Ten minutes with the map replaces a week of tabs, and the answer feeds straight into your product record. Start with a free draft and publish the verifiable version when you are ready.

[See Which Frameworks Apply to You →](/countries/map/){ .md-button .md-button--primary }

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a different certificate for every country?

Sometimes, but not always. Markets share test data (an IEC CB report feeds CE, KC and PSE), and regional marks like CE or the G-Mark cover multiple countries. The map shows what's shared and what's separate.

What if I'm just a reseller?

Your obligations are lighter but not zero — responsible person duties, traceability and platform documentation still apply. Knowing your role shapes which frameworks you carry.

How often does the list change?

Constantly. Frameworks get amended, new delegated acts arrive, deadlines shift. That's why the discovery step should connect to living documents, not a one-time spreadsheet.

Last updated: September 2, 2026

Global Digital Trust & Compliance

Sustalium is the digital-first platform for managing complex business certificates and sustainability declarations across global supply chains.

Environment & ESG
  • Digital Product Passport (DPP)
  • Carbon & Water Footprint
  • Circularity & Reuse (ISO 14021)
  • De-Forestation Free
Product & Food Safety
  • FSMA 204 (FDA Traceability)
  • REACH & RoHS Compliance
  • PFAS-Free & VOC Declarations
  • Prop 65 & TSCA Title VI
Social & Ethical
  • ISO 26000 Responsibility
  • Modern Slavery Statements
  • UFLPA Forced Labor Traceability
  • Ethical Labor Declarations
Governance & Trade
  • Swiss Made & Origin Claims
  • GDPR & AI Ethics (EU AI Act)
  • CE Marking & UKCA Conformity
  • Bill S-211 (Canada) Reporting
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Have questions about a specific standard?
Contact our compliance team at compliance@sustalium.com