Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken with her EU counterparts to prevent shipments of illegal timber from sawmills in the Brazilian Amazon entering the European market; and if she will make a statement.

The EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) prevents the trade of illegally-harvested timber in the EU by laying obligation on operators who place timber and timber products on the market and those who subsequently trade in them. It was implemented in the UK by the Timber and Timber Products (Placing on the Market) Regulations in March 2013. The legislation applies to all timber and timber products in scope of the regulation, including illegally-harvested timber from the Brazilian Amazon.

In the UK, the National Measurement Office (NMO) is the competent authority for the EUTR. The NMO is working closely with its EU counterparts to prevent any shipments of illegal timber entering the EU market.