Vietnam and the European Union have agreed that the Timber Legality Assurance System of Vietnam (VNTLAS) will be applied to wood and wood products exported to the EU, and also to other countries, as well as the domestic market. Source: The Jakarta Post
The two sides reached agreement during their sixth session negotiating the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT), said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hà Công Tuấn.
Mr Tuấn stated that during this sixth session, Vietnam and the EU also reached consensus on applying the FLEGT licensing mechanism to timber exported the EU. #
The two sides entered into negotiations on FLEGT-VPA in October 2010.
FLEGT-licensed timber and timber products from Vietnam will be considered legal and, as such, not subject to the requirements of the EU Timber Regulation.
The EU, which is responsible for about one-fourth of world timber consumption, is now the fourth largest importer of Vietnam’s timber and wood products, the US, Japan and China.
