16 September 2009

New European Timber Trade Federation established

A new European Timber Trade Federation (ETTF) was established on 1 July 2009 to represent trade interests at European level. The management team of the ETTF is headed by Andre de Boer of the Netherlands Timber Trade Association (VVNH). De Boer will combine his role as CEO of VVNH with his new role as ETTF General Secretary until the end of this year, after which time he will dedicate himself to his new tasks as ETTF.
Other positions on the board of ETTF will be held by the Chairman of the Union pour le commerce des bois durs (UCBD), Union pour le commerce des panneaux en bois (UCIP), and Union pour le commerce des bois resineux (UCBR) which have now merged into the ETTF.
The ETTF membership comprises 12 national importer associations: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The official headquarters of the ETTF will be in Brussels, Belgium, however de Boer will coordinate Federation work from Almere in the Netherlands. A key objective is to ensure more powerful representation of the interests European wood importers at EU level, for example in relation to on-going negotiations surrounding legislative proposals which aim to minimise the risk of illegal wood entering European supply chains.