A bill banning timber imports from Burma has been approved by the US Senate.
The Burma Democracy Promotion Act was passed by senators yesterday (December 19) and will now need to be signed by president George Bush.
America has been ramping up sanctions on the southeast Asian country since brutal clampdowns on public protests there in September.
The bill is the second important legislation affecting timber product imports which has been through the Senate in the last week.
On December 14 an amendment based on the Combat Illegal Logging Act was included in the Farm Bill.
This effectively expands the Lacey Act – which currently relates to trade in fish, wildlife and some plants – to ban the import, sale or trade in illegally-harvested timber and wood products.
The bill now moves to a conference committee to work out differences between Senate and House versions of the legislation.
“Stopping the importation of illegal timber helps protect the environment, supports living wage jobs, and levels the playing field for American manufacturers,” said senator Ron Wyden, who introduced the Combat Illegal Logging Act.
Meanwhile, the US has also agreed to work with China to combat illegal logging and the associated wood trade in wood products by signing a memorandum of undersanding.
It involves the two countries sharing information on timber shipments, promoting sustainable forest management and initiating further crackdowns on the illegal trade.
