The Vietnam-European Union Voluntary Partnership Agreement – A Work in Progress

Vietnam’s timber processing industry is one of the largest in the world, with exports of $11.5 billion in 2019. It relies significantly on imported timber, especially to produce furniture for international markets.

To date, a large amount of that timber is procured from illegal sources.

Acknowledging the problem and the international market’s call for legal trade, the Government of Vietnam has made a commitment to reforming its legal framework through a national multi-stakeholder process and in partnership with the EU under its Forest Law, Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) initiative.

Concerns remain, however, when import controls under the Vietnamese Timber Legality Assurance System become effective on 30 October, 2020