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A ban placed by Chinese officials on imports of timber from Burma has led to dramatic cuts in flows of illegal timber, the lobby group Global Witness said on 30 May. At the request of the Burmese government, the Provincial Government of Yunnan on 27 March had instructed Chinese border checkpoints to stop imports of “all sorts of timber and mineral products from Burma” (now known officially as Myanmar), which are presumed by both governments to be illegal when sent by land as opposed to better-regulated sea transactions. Chinese timber workers in Burma have also been told to return home and it has been made a criminal offence in China to import timber (by land) from or perform logging in Burma. Since the issuance of the order, land-based trade flows between the two countries have been cut significantly and most border crossings are enforcing the ban, though some timber is still entering via border back roads. At least 200 Chinese workers have been arrested by the Burmese government. Bilateral talks between the Yunnan and Burma governments on timber and mineral trading cooperation are continuing. Following publicity from a report several months ago regarding European imports of processed forest products from China that used illegally logged timber from Burma (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 28 October 2005), EU officials have raised concerns a few times in high-level meetings with Chinese diplomats about Chinese sourcing from Burmese regions characterised by civil unrest and illegal activities. Although it is uncertain exactly why the Rangoon-based military junta in Burma would like to see the illegal exports stop, sources in the country suggest key factors include losses in government revenue from forgone taxes, the difficulty that legal Burmese exporters of forest producers face in international markets to compete with Chinese exporters that use cheap illegally-harvested Burmese wood, and the financial support the illegal timber exports give to armed opposition groups in the country.
ICTSD Reporting; “China Blocks Timber Imports From Burma,” GLOBAL WITNESS, 30 May 2006; “China Blocks Timber Imports from Burma,” 31 May 2006; “China cracking down on illegal timber from Myanmar,” REUTERS, 1 June 2006.
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