Glossary
Economic operator
Economic operator is the umbrella term EU product law uses for anyone in the supply chain with legal compliance duties: manufacturers, importers, authorised representatives, distributors and, for the newest rules, online fulfilment service providers. Each role carries a different, tiered set of obligations.
Why it matters
Knowing which economic operator you are, often more than one role at once, such as manufacturer and importer, determines exactly which duties apply to you, since regulations like the GPSR now require at least one operator established inside the EU before a product can be sold there at all.