Representatives from the European Union (EU) and Vietnam will meet Nov. 29-30 in Hanoi, Vietnam, to discuss implementation of the EU's Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT), Western Europe's equivalent to the United States' Lacey Act. News of the meeting was first published at Eco-Business.com.
EU delegates hope Vietnam will participate in a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) to ensure only legally harvested wood products will enter the EU when the FLEGT takes effect in January 2012. For the first nine months of 2010, Vietnam has exported $475 million in wood products to the EU.
Negotiations between the EU and Vietnam are the latest in a string of discussions EU representatives are holding throughout Asia, including Thailand.
