A petition has been delivered to the US government urging it to investigate Malaysia over the alleged illegal export of Indonesian timber and to consider imposing trade sanctions.
The petition was put together by the Environmental Investigation Agency and four other environmental groups.
The US is the biggest buyer of Malaysian wooden furniture – it bought US$433m worth last year – and, along with Japan, is the biggest importer of Malaysian plywood. Any sanctions could have a devastating effect on Malaysia’s US$1.5bn furniture industry as well as its timber exports.