Vietnam is the second country in the world that has signed VPA (Voluntary Partnership Agreement), a bilateral timber-trade agreement between the EU and timber-exporting countries outside the EU, that commits to very strict requirements. Meanwhile, other countries oppose the agreement.

VPA is a legally binding trade agreement which aims at improving the forest administration and promote legal timber trade to the EU market.

Under VPA, the countries which want to export timber to the EU must have TLAS (Timber Legality Assurance System) which can prove the legal origin of timber. EU only allows imports of timber with a FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance & Trade) certificate.

Once a member of the Vietnamese delegation negotiating for VPA, Nguyen Canh Cuong, former Vietnamese trade counsellor in Belgium, said the initial name of the agreement showed that at first, this was an agreement implemented on the voluntary basis. However, now, when the trend of green living and green trade is prevailing, the EU market and its consumers want timber products to satisfy strict requirements on origin. So, the once voluntary regulation has become mandatory.

VPA set criteria exporters have to satisfy to be able to export to the EU, including compliance with regulations on land and forest use rights, on management, the environment and society, on seized timber handling, timber import, transport and trade, and on timber processing and export, as well as regulations on tax and labor.

The criteria have posed technical barriers for many timber exporters, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

However, Cuong has advised Vietnamese enterprises not to consider VPA as a barrier, but an opportunity.

“In the immediate time, the EU’s strict requirements may cause difficulties or have negative impact on Vietnam’s timber exports, but in the long term, they will be good for the country’s development sustainability,” Cuong said.

Regarding VPA compliance, Ngo Sy Hoai, deputy chair and secretary general of Vifores (Vietnam Timber & Forest Products Association), said Vietnam has prepared a legal framework, and control and management to be able to satisfy the requirements set by VPA.

However, agencies still need to find an optimal mechanism for FLEGT licensing to every consignment of timber exports, to be sure that the mechanism can match EUDR (EU Deforestation Regulation).

To implement EUDR, Vietnam must do two things. First, declare due diligence practices (DDS) on the origin of timber. Second, establish electronic evidence of geographical coordinates of the forest area/log lot, ensuring that the purpose of forest use doesn’t change from natural forest to planted forest or to other industrial crops.

“The regulations seem to be technically difficult to follow. Vietnamese woodwork enterprises are ready to satisfy the EU’s requirements. There are many subjects related to the regulations, including farmers, merchants, transport agents, and enterprises that process and export products for export to the EU,” Hoai said.

“We have to build legal documents guiding the subjects in the supply chain to ensure the implementation of EUDR in the most serious manner, thus creating a win-win status for all involved parties,” he explained.

Also according to Hoai, though Vietnam’s timber export volume to the EU is smaller than to the US and other countries, Vietnam will still strictly observe EURD to send a message that Vietnam is concerned about issues related to forests and the wood industry.

“Vifores considers the issues related to the EU’s strict requirements on deforestation and forest degradation as both challenges and opportunities,” he said.

Currently, some neighboring countries, such as Malaysia and Thailand, have voiced their opposition to the agreement. If Vietnam can satisfy the requirements upon the agreement, Vietnam will be able to retain the EU market, or even expand the market.

“Despite big difficulties, we still believe that we can implement EUDR,” Hoai said.

Source: vietnamnet.vn