A3P Partners Gobal Call For Free Trade

9 August 2007
The Australian Plantation Products and Paper Industry Councils (QA3P) has partnered wood and paper industry leaders from Canada, Chile, Europe, New Zealand and the United States in a global call for accelerated trade liberalisation in wood and paper products through the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Doha Development Agenda.
Between them, in world exports, the industry leaders represent 78% in wood products, 81% in wood pulp and 86% in paper.
A3P chief executive Neil Fisher said the Doha negotiations offered an unparalleled opportunity to eliminate trade barriers and put in place more effective trade rules.
“Global subsidies and tariffs currently distort world trade in wood and paper products,” Fisher said. “These barriers are a leading contributor to Australia’s $2 billion trade deficit wood and paper.
“Trade liberalisation is critical to the economic and environmental progress of the global wood and paper industry – an industry that employs nearly 13 million people in 200 nations, often in rural areas where there are few other employment opportunities.”
Fisher said fostering a legitimate forest products industry could also help reduce deforestation by expanding the opportunity for communities to benefit from their forests.
“A3P joins representatives from the global wood and paper industry in calling on the WTO to reach agreement on expanding global market access on agricultural and non-agricultural products by the end of 2007,” he said.
Signatories to the global statement include: A3P, the Wood Processors Association of New Zealand, Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI), Corporacion Chilena de la Madera (CORMA), American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA), New Zealand Forest Owners Association, and the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC)

NZ Wood To Hit Regions

The landmark NZ Wood programme will be showcased to the forestry and wood industry in a series of road shows around in August – unveiling plans that bring the industry together behind a number of new initiatives to grow the industry and the market for wood.
 “It’s vital that people from the industry attend and find out what NZ Wood is all about. This is a programme that can significantly grow the industry and the market for wood products,” says programme manager Geoff Henley.
The NZ Wood campaign involves research and development, public education, information on the use of wood as a building material, information on design using wood products, and promotion of plantation forests and wood in New Zealand.
The NZ Wood road-show presentations will demonstrate how businesses from across the industry can contribute to and benefit from the programme’s initiatives. The road-shows are the first in a series of campaigns that will involve all industry and the general public.
For more information, go to: www.nzwood.co.nz

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