Europe Passes Bill to Ban Illegally Harvested Timber and Timber Products

According to a European Commission FAQ, this legislation, coupled with the U.S. Lacey Act which has a similar purpose, will send an important signal worldwide and encourage more timber producing countries to establish systems to verify legal compliance.

Expected to Take Effect in 2012, Pending Final Approval by European Council

According to the European Parliament, the European Council has already informally agreed with the terms of this draft legislation but will need to “rubber stamp” it before it can pass into law. The rules are expected to take effect in late 2012.

Would Affect Wood, Veneer, Paper, Frames, Furniture, Cases, Etc.

“Timber and timber products" would include certain wood, veneered panels, particleboard, fiberboard, packing cases, frames, paper, furniture, and other products in Europe’s Combined Nomenclature (CN) codes,² specifically headings 4401, 4403, 4406-4416, 4418 and others in Chapters 47, 48, and 94, with the exception of products that had completed their lifecycle and would otherwise be disposed of as waste.

“First Placement on Market” Would Require Species, Compliance, & Other Info

Operators³ placing timber and timber products for the first time on the internal market would have to use a “due diligence” framework of procedures and measures, to ensure that illegally harvested timber and timber products are not placed on the market. This due diligence system would have to provide access to information about the:

• trade name and type of product as well as the common name of tree species and, where applicable, its full scientific name;
• country of harvest (and where applicable, the sub-national region where the timber was harvested and concession of harvest);
• quantity (expressed in volume, weight or number of units);
• name and address of the supplier to the operator;
• name and address of the internal trader to whom the timber and timber products have been supplied;
• documents or other information indicating compliance of those timber and timber products with the applicable legislation.

Risk Assessment and Mitigation Required

Operators would also have to carry out a risk assessment, and where a risk is identified, mitigate it in a manner proportionate to the risk identified, with a view to preventing illegally harvested timber and timber products derived from such timber from being placed on the market.

Could use existing systems. In order to avoid any undue administrative burden, operators already using systems or procedures which comply with the requirements of this regulation would not be required to set up new systems.

Could rely on certification. In order to recognize good practice in the forestry sector, certification or other third-party verified schemes that include verification of compliance with applicable legislation may be used in the risk assessment procedure.

Member States Could Seize Non-Compliant Products, Impose Penalties

Member states would be required to regularly evaluate operators’ due diligence systems and risk assessment and mitigation procedures, and if shortcomings are detected, could: (i) issue a notice of remedial actions to be taken by the operator; (ii) seize the timber and timber products concerned; (iii) immediately suspend the authorization to trade; and (iv) impose penalties.

(Note that under the legislation, internal traders in the supply chain would only be required to provide basic information on its supplier and its buyer to enable the traceability of timber and timber products.)

¹"Placing on the market" would mean the supply by any means, irrespective of the selling technique used, of timber or timber products for the first time on the internal market for distribution or use in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge. It would also include the supply by means of distance communication.

²Timber and timber products as classified in the Combined Nomenclature set out in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87(1) to which this Regulation applies are:

• 4401 Fuel wood, in logs, in billets, in twigs, in faggots or in similar forms; wood in chips or particles; sawdust and wood waste and scrap, whether or not agglomerated in logs, briquettes, pellets or similar forms;
• 4403 Wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood, or roughly squared;
• 4406 Railway or tramway sleepers (cross-ties) of wood;
• 4407 Wood sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed, of a thickness exceeding 6 mm;
• 4408 Sheets for veneering (including those obtained by slicing laminated wood), for plywood or for other similar laminated wood and other wood, sawn lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed, sanded, spliced or end-jointed, of a thickness not exceeding 6 mm;
• 4409 Wood (including strips and friezes for parquet flooring, not assembled) continuously shaped (tongued, grooved, rebated, chamfered, V-jointed, beaded, molded, rounded or the like) along any of its edges, ends or faces, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed;
• 4410 Particle board, oriented strand board (OSB) and similar board of wood whether or not agglomerated with resins or other organic binding substances;
• 4411 Fiberboard of wood or other ligneous materials, whether or not bonded with resins or other organic substances;
• 4412 Plywood, veneered panels and similar laminated wood;
• 4413 00 00 Densified wood, in blocks, plates, strips or profile shapes;
• 4414 00 Wooden frames for paintings, photographs, mirrors or similar objects;
• 4415 Packing cases, boxes, crates, drums and similar packings, of wood; cable-drums of wood; pallets, box pallets and other load boards, of wood; pallet collars of wood; coffins; (Not packing material used exclusively as packing material to support, protect or carry another product placed on the market.)
• 4416 00 00 Casks, barrels, vats, tubs and other coopers' products and parts thereof, of wood, including staves;
• 4418 Builders' joinery and carpentry of wood, including cellular wood panels, assembled flooring panels, shingles and shakes, wood (including strips and friezes for parquet flooring, not assembled) continuously shaped (tongued, grooved, rebated, chamfered, V-jointed, beaded, molded, rounded or the like) along any of its edges, ends or faces, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed;
• Pulp and paper of Chapters 47 and 48 of the Combined Nomenclature, with the exception of bamboo-based and recovered (waste and scrap) products;
• 9403 30, 9403 40, 9403 50 00, 9403 60 and 9403 90 30 Wooden furniture; and
• 9406 00 20 Prefabricated buildings.

³"Operator" means any natural or legal person that places timber or timber products on the market.

(Parliament press release, dated 07/07/10, available here.)