WCO, forest protection and customs compliance

The WCO (world customs organization) announced about International Day of Forests (March 2024) that “ …the International Day of Forests is celebrated globally. In 2024, this significant occasion is commemorated under the theme “Forests and Innovation: New Solutions for a Better World.” This celebration serves as a reminder of the indispensable role forests play in sustaining life on Earth, while emphasizing the urgent need for innovative approaches to tackle challenges such as deforestation and wildlife trafficking…”.

Indeed, the same press release added that “…despite significant technological advancements that have revolutionized forest monitoring, enabling countries to track and report on their forests more effectively, the challenge of deforestation persists as a pressing concern. Furthermore, the illicit trade in timber and wildlife continues to thrive, driven by sophisticated criminal networks and the lure of substantial profits. In response to these challenges, the World Customs Organization (WCO) plays a pivotal role in supporting Customs administrations to fulfill their responsibilities in effectively handling legal trade while combating illegal activities…” This is the rationale of the EU deforestation due diligence scheme.

In particular, WCO, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), the International Tropical Timber Technical Association (ATIBT), and the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) updated the annex to Explanatory Notes to Chapter 44 of the Harmonized System (HS), which lists tropical wood species.

These Explanatory Note provisions play an essential role in ensuring that Customs and trade understand the scope of HS classifications for tropical wood, improving their proper use. These classifications make international trade in products of tropical trees more visible, giving a clearer picture of their use levels and allowing Customs to apply appropriate controls. Hence, this work on the Explanatory Notes is essential to ensure the proper use of the customs classifications helping to protect these precious resources.

In particular, the Chapter 44 of the Harmonized system (HS) is made as follow:

Heading 4401: “ Fuel wood, in logs, in billets, in twigs, in faggots or in similar forms; wood in chips or particles; sawdust and wood waste and scrap, whether or not agglomerated in logs, briquettes, pellets or similar forms…”;

Heading 4402 “…Wood charcoal (including shell or nut charcoal), whether or not agglomerated…”;

Heading 4403 “…Wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood, or roughly squared…”

Heading 4404 “…Hoopwood; split poles; piles, pickets and stakes of wood, pointed but not sawn lengthwise; wooden sticks, roughly trimmed but not turned, bent or otherwise worked, suitable for the manufacture of walking-sticks, umbrellas, tool handles or the like; chipwood and the like…”;

Heading 4405 “…Wood wool; wood flour…”;

Heading 4406 “…Railway or tramway sleepers (cross-ties) of wood…”;

Heading 4407 “…Wood sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed, of a thickness exceeding 6 mm….”;

Heading 4408 “…Sheets for veneering (including those obtained by slicing laminated wood), for plywood or for similar laminated wood and other wood, sawn lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed, sanded, spliced or end-jointed, of a thickness not exceeding 6 mm…”;

Heading 4409 “…Wood (including strips and friezes for parquet flooring, not assembled) continuously shaped (tongued, grooved, rebated, chamfered, V-jointed, beaded, moulded, rounded or the like) along any of its edges, ends or faces, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed…”;

Heading 4410 “…Particle board, oriented strand board (OSB) and similar board (for example, waferboard) of wood or other ligneous materials, whether or not agglomerated with resins or other organic binding substances….”;

 

Heading 4411 Fibre”…board of wood or other ligneous materials, whether or not bonded with resins or other organic substances….”;

Heading 4412 “…Plywood, veneered panels and similar laminated wood…”

 

Heading 4413 “Densified wood, in blocks, plates, strips or profile shapes.

Heading 4414 “Wooden frames for paintings, photographs, mirrors or similar objects.

Heading 4415 “…Packing cases, boxes, crates, drums and similar packings, of wood; cable-drums of wood; pallets, box pallets and other load boards, of wood; pallet collars of wood…”

Heading 4416: “…Casks, barrels, vats, tubs and other coopers’ products and parts thereof, of wood, including staves…”;

Heading 4417 “…Tools, tool bodies, tool handles, broom or brush bodies and handles, of wood; boot or shoe lasts and trees, of wood…”;

Heading 4418 “…Builders’ joinery and carpentry of wood, including cellular wood panels, assembled flooring panels, shingles and shakes…”;

Heading 4419 “…Tableware and kitchenware, of wood…”

Heading 4420 “…Wood marquetry and inlaid wood; caskets and cases for jewellery or cutlery, and similar articles, of wood; statuettes and other ornaments, of wood; wooden articles of furniture not falling in Chapter 94…”

Heading 4421 “…Other articles of wood…”.

Annexes. Appellation of certain tropical woods

In particular, the commodities that fall into the EU deforestation are:

Wood: 4401 Fuel wood, in logs, in billets, in twigs, in faggots or in similar forms; wood in chips or particles; sawdust and wood waste and scrap, whether or not agglomerated in logs, briquettes, pellets or similar forms 4402 Wood charcoal (including shell or nut charcoal), whether or not agglomerated 4403 Wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood, or roughly squared 4404 Hoopwood; split poles; piles, pickets and stakes of wood, pointed but not sawn lengthwise; wooden sticks, roughly trimmed but not turned, bent or otherwise worked, suitable for the manufacture of walking sticks, umbrellas, tool handles or the like; chipwood and the like 4405 Wood wool; wood flour 4406 Railway or tramway sleepers (cross-ties) of wood 4407 Wood sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed, of a thickness exceeding 6 mm 4408 Sheets for veneering (including those obtained by slicing laminated wood), for plywood or for other similar laminated wood and other wood, sawn lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed, sanded, spliced or end-jointed, of a thickness not exceeding 6 mm 4409 Wood (including strips and friezes for parquet flooring, not assembled) continuously shaped (tongued, grooved, rebated, chamfered, V-jointed, beaded, moulded, rounded or the like) along any of its edges, ends or faces, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed 4410 Particle board, oriented strand board (OSB) and similar board (for example, waferboard) of wood or other ligneous materials, whether or not agglomerated with resins or other organic binding substances 4411 Fibreboard of wood or other ligneous materials, whether or not bonded with resins or other organic substances.

Finally, the internal monitoring and the checks required for the AEO could support very well the economic operator in ensuring the full compliance with this new regulation. AEO authorization is essencially based on the concept of “focused/specific/qualified care for the internal processes  and both the customs operations and legal framework. Ongoing monitoring and risk assessment are needed for the AEO)