British Embassy clarifies<\/p>\n
On March 10, 2004 you reported that the United Kingdom had
\nbanned Indonesian plywood imports, and then lifted the ban. This
\nis not correct. UK consumers greatly value Indonesian timber
\nproducts for their excellent quality. The UK remains one of the
\nlargest importers of Indonesian forest products in Europe, and
\nhas never banned the import of Indonesian timber products. The UK
\nis a member of the European Community and as such does not have
\nthe competence to take decisions to restrict imports. Such
\ndecisions are taken by the Council of Ministers acting on
\nproposals which have been developed through close cooperation
\nbetween the European Commission and all EU member states.<\/p>\n
It is true, however, that last summer three of the UK's five
\nlargest buyers of Indonesian plywood temporarily disengaged from
\ntheir Indonesian suppliers, and have yet to renew those contract.
\nThis happened following information from the Indonesian Ministry
\nof Forestry that inspections of eight large Indonesian plywood
\nmills had found all eight to be operating illegally and\/or
\nharboring illegal timber. Two of these mills were supplying
\nplywood to the UK. Naturally, UK buyers were concerned by this
\ninformation, hence the temporary disengagement. This was,
\nhowever, the choice of the companies, and not a matter of
\ngovernment policy.<\/p>\n
Your article reports that UK buyers cannot accept Indonesian
\nplywood because of an agreement between the UK and Indonesian
\ngovernments. This is not the case. A Memorandum of Understanding
\non Forest Law Enforcement and Governance has been signed between
\nthe government of Indonesia and the UK, which commits both
\ngovernments to working together to tackle illegal logging. It
\nproposes developing and testing independent systems for verifying
\nthe legality of timber flowing between Indonesia and the UK.<\/p>\n
Both the government of Indonesia and the UK are fully
\ncommitted to implementing the Action Plan agreed in the
\nMemorandum of Understanding. Most recently, a meeting was held in
\nthe UK in February to discuss the timber trade. This meeting was
\nattended by representatives from the Indonesian and UK
\ngovernments and forest products industries, as well as civil
\nsociety. Following this meeting, UK government and industry
\nofficials have been invited to Indonesia to discuss further areas
\nfor cooperation. We hope that this visit, scheduled for April or
\nMay, will afford us an opportunity to clarify concerns and
\ndevelop mutually acceptable systems to increase the level of
\nlegal and ethical trade between our nations.<\/p>\n
MARK WALMSLEY, First Secretary (Trade and Investment)<\/p>\n
British Embassy, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/british-embassy-clarifies-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }