British Embassy clarifies

On March 10, 2004 you reported that the United Kingdom had banned Indonesian plywood imports, and then lifted the ban. This is not correct. UK consumers greatly value Indonesian timber products for their excellent quality. The UK remains one of the largest importers of Indonesian forest products in Europe, and has never banned the import of Indonesian timber products. The UK is a member of the European Community and as such does not have the competence to take decisions to restrict imports. Such decisions are taken by the Council of Ministers acting on proposals which have been developed through close cooperation between the European Commission and all EU member states.

It is true, however, that last summer three of the UK's five largest buyers of Indonesian plywood temporarily disengaged from their Indonesian suppliers, and have yet to renew those contract. This happened following information from the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry that inspections of eight large Indonesian plywood mills had found all eight to be operating illegally and/or harboring illegal timber. Two of these mills were supplying plywood to the UK. Naturally, UK buyers were concerned by this information, hence the temporary disengagement. This was, however, the choice of the companies, and not a matter of government policy.

Your article reports that UK buyers cannot accept Indonesian plywood because of an agreement between the UK and Indonesian governments. This is not the case. A Memorandum of Understanding on Forest Law Enforcement and Governance has been signed between the government of Indonesia and the UK, which commits both governments to working together to tackle illegal logging. It proposes developing and testing independent systems for verifying the legality of timber flowing between Indonesia and the UK.

Both the government of Indonesia and the UK are fully committed to implementing the Action Plan agreed in the Memorandum of Understanding. Most recently, a meeting was held in the UK in February to discuss the timber trade. This meeting was attended by representatives from the Indonesian and UK governments and forest products industries, as well as civil society. Following this meeting, UK government and industry officials have been invited to Indonesia to discuss further areas for cooperation. We hope that this visit, scheduled for April or May, will afford us an opportunity to clarify concerns and develop mutually acceptable systems to increase the level of legal and ethical trade between our nations.

MARK WALMSLEY, First Secretary (Trade and Investment)
British Embassy, Jakarta