Negotiations on existing World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and a
new “global, free logging agreement” proposed by the U.S. are high on
the agenda for the WTO meeting in Seattle, November 29 – December 3.
The meeting opens the next major world trade negotiations due to start
early in 2000. Ministers and senior officials from over 150 governments
are expected to attend.
The goal is to reduce tariffs on wood and paper products – but the results
threaten countries’ attempts to protect their forests through mechanisms
like certification, banning log exports, and preventing migration of
invasive species. In addition, phasing out tariffs is bound to fuel
consumption and demand, already predicted to rise.
Indeed, a recent study by the Finnish consulting firm Jaakko Poyry estimates
that tariff-free trade will result in a three to four percent increase in
forest product consumption. And the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization’s “State of the World’s Forests 1999” report forecasts a 25
percent increase in worldwide industrial wood production and consumption
by the year 2010.
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