Vietnam and the EU are to hold the first round of formal negotiations
on a bilateral Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) for Forest Law
Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) in Hanoi by late November.
At the first VPA preparatory meeting on August
16, both sides raised hopes that the negotiations will conclude with the
signing of a voluntary partnership agreement by the end of 2012.
The agreement is expected to create conditions for Vietnam ’s
timber producers to improve their position on the EU market and increase
their ability to adapt to EU market requirements with respect to the
legality of timber. The agreement aims to establish control and
licensing procedures in timber producing and processing countries to
ensure that only timber products derived from legally harvested timber
enter the EU.
At the VPA preparatory meeting, the
Charge d’Affaires of the EU delegation Hans Farnhammer emphasised the
importance of the agreement. He said, “We do hope that the signing of
the FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement will help to further
strengthen the position of Vietnam ’s timber and timber products in
the EU market. The forthcoming negotiations are witness to Vietnam ’s
commitment to meeting EU consumer demands as well as fighting climate
change”.
Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural
Development Hua Duc Nhi said, “This is the first step to ensure the
exports of timber and timber products from Vietnam to the EU continue
smoothly in years to come. In the long run, the VPA will give legal
certainty and bankable guarantees to exporters, importers and investors
in the timber sector willing to trade with the EU”.
The FLEGT will come into force from January 2012, demanding the
transparency of forest products in all fields, from exploitation to
end-products, so the EU can trace the origin of raw materials.
The EU has so far signed FLEGT VPA with three African countries and
is conducting negotiations with several others in Asia .
Vietnam is one of the world’s biggest timber furniture suppliers
and the EU is the second largest market of Vietnamese timber products,
following the US .
In the first seven months of
the year, Vietnam earned over 1.9 billion USD from exports of
forest products and wood furniture, representing an increase of 31
percent year on year. The country, however, has to import raw material
and other timber products with revenues hitting 605 million USD in the
first seven months of the year, an increase of 33 percent year on year./.
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