U.S. Says Trade Plan Won't Hurt Forests
11/4/99
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Title: U.S. Says Trade Plan Won't Hurt Forests
Source: Reuters
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: November 4, 1999
WASHINGTON - A U.S. proposal to slash tariffs worldwide on paper,
wooden furniture and other forest products would have little impact
on the global timber harvest or the environment, a White House study
said.
But the analysis, released by the office of the U.S. Trade
Representative and the White House Council on Environmental Quality,
concluded that timber harvests in some countries, led by Finland,
would increase sharply, while harvests in South Korea, France and
Japan would decline.
The forest products proposal is part of President Bill Clinton's
accelerated tariff liberalisation initiative, known as the ATL, which
calls for World Trade Organisation members to reduce tariffs quickly
in eight sectors, covering items as diverse as toys and jewelry,
paper, pulp and prefab housing.
Washington hopes to give the ATL initiative a boost at the meeting of
WTO ministers in Seattle Nov. 30 to Dec. 3. But the ATL has met
resistance from some WTO members and environmental groups, who fear
that cutting tariffs on forest products would intensify deforestation
and hurt wildlife.
The White House study concluded that the proposed cuts would have
little impact on timber harvests in most countries, and might even
hold benefits for the environment.
"The ATL is likely to result in positive environmental changes by
reducing timber harvest in some countries," the report said. "In
addition, the overall ATL initiative, of which forest products is but
one of eight sectors, may contribute to increasing income and rising
standards of living in developing countries."
Increased incomes, in turn, could spur consumption of more
environmentally-friendly products and boost conservation efforts in
the developing world, the study concluded.
Under the ATL, developed countries would eliminate tariffs by Jan. 1,
2002, for wood chemicals, wood, rattan, wood furniture and prefab
housing. It would urge developing nations to meet the same targets
but give them an two extra years to complete the tariff cuts.
The proposal also calls for the United States, Canada, Finland,
Austria, Singapore, Japan, the European Union, South Korea and New
Zealand to remove most tariffs in pulp, paper and printed products by
Jan. 1, 2000. Other nations would try to meet that target date, but
developing countries could wait until Jan. 1, 2002 to comply.
The White House said U.S. consumption of most forest products would
change by less than 1 percent by 2010 as a result of the ATL.
World trade in forest products would increase by no more than 2
percent in the same period, according to the study. The global timber
harvest would grow by 0.5 percent, while world production and
consumption of forest products would increase by 1 percent or less.
The timber harvest would increase in Australia, Chile, China,
Finland, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Sweden under the ATL.
For Malaysia and Indonesia, these increases would be in the range of
2.6 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively, by 2010. Harvests in
Sweden and Finland would increase by 7.6 percent and 11 percent in
the same period. Australia's harvest would increase by as much as 9.2
percent.
Timber harvests in Russia, Mexico, Canada, South Korea, France,
Germany, Portugal and Japan would decrease. Mexico and Russia, for
example, would see declines of 2.1 percent and 4.1 percent
respectively, the study said. Harvests by South Korea would tumble
11.2 percent, France by 6.4 percent, and Japan by 5.8 percent.
"The ATL is unlikely to alter the proportion of the world's timber
harvest that comes from developing countries as compared to developed
countries," the study said.
"Developed countries are likely to account for at least two-thirds of
increases in timber production resulting from the ATL. Developed
countries also will account for the majority of expected decreases in
production."