Forest Products: Trade Policy Highlights


What's New? \| Trade Data \| Country Reports \| Market News \| Trade Policy \| Publications \| Coming Events \| Helpful Links

	FOREST PRODUCTS TRADE POLICY HIGHLIGHTS - JUNE 2003
	USDA to Refuse Entry of Bigleaf Mahogany Shipments
	On June 2, 2003, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced that it will refuse entry to 9 shipments and 2 partial shipments of bigleaf mahogany from Brazil that have been held for 180 days or more, and for which IBAMA, the Brazilian management authority for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), has not declared the legal status as required for species on Appendix III. On November 13, 2002, the 12th Conference of the Parties to CITES adopted a proposal by Nicaragua and Guatemala for tighter trade controls on bigleaf mahogany by listing it in CITES Appendix II. Appendix II requires an export permit for shipments and confirmation that the shipments are not detrimental to the survival of the species. The Appendix II listing takes effect on November 15, 2003. U.S. imports of mahogany lumber from Brazil were valued at $11.7 million in 2002.

	U.S. and Chile Sign Free Trade Agreement
	On June 6, 2003, U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick and Chilean Foreign Minister Soledad Alvear signed the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement on behalf of their respective countries at a signing ceremony in Miami. Tariffs on wood products in both countries will be eliminated immediately upon implementation of the agreement. The President will work with Congress over the coming months to draft the necessary implementing legislation and gain Congressional approval of the agreement. U.S. exports to Chile, currently dutiable at 6 percent, totaled $6 million in 2002; U.S. imports from Chile, which generally enter duty-free, were valued at $182 million in 2002.