The European Union has agreed to accept the Timber Legality Assurance System of Vietnam, which will now be applied to wood and wood products exported from Vietnam into the EU, as well as to other countries and the Vietnamese domestic market, according to VCCI News.
The agreement was struck during a session in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 13. Vietnam and the EU also agreed to apply the FLEGT licensing mechanism to timber exported to the EU.
Both developments will give Vietnamese wood more “prestige” in the EU market, according to VCCI News.
The EU is one of five major importers of Vietnamese wood and wood products. In 2015, it imported $700 million in wood from Vietnam, equal to about 10 percent of Vietnam’s total wood exports, according to VCCI News.
