EU Calls for More Diligence on Plywood Imports to Stop Russia Sanctions Evasion
Imports into the EU of birch and other types of plywood have proven to be a “major source of revenue” for Russia and Belarus and are frequently being used to evade EU sanctions, the European Commission said in a sanctions alert last week.
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The commission said Russian and Belarusian producers are using third-country companies that repackage and relabel their plywood products to hide their origin, including by falsifying invoices, certificates of origin, proof of harvest location and independent third-party certificates. The goods are shipped by road, rail or sea and are being imported into the EU, it said. The commission said it “strongly” recommends “enhanced due diligence” on the origin of imported plywood, specifically calling out “first placers on the EU market,” along with European warehouse owners and other intermediaries and end users.