Parliamentary Committee Approves Final Version of the Draft Law "On Timber Market"

The EBA Woodworking & Furniture Committee welcomes the decision of the Verkhovna Rada Committee to adopt the Draft Law "On the Timber Market" No. 4197-d.

As a reminder, the draft law defines the legal, economic, and organizational framework for the sale of unprocessed timber and fuel wood on the timber market to meet the needs of timber market participants on the principles of free and fair competition and sustainable use of forest resources.

The EBA experts support the adoption of this draft law, as the final version takes into account the following business proposals:

• The principle of cascading timber auctions, according to which the starting price can be increased or decreased, which contributes to the development of competitiveness;
• Extension of the moratorium on the export of unprocessed timber, which will allow domestic processing companies to invest more in their own production, hire more employees and increase the amount of taxes paid;
• Granting domestic wood processing companies the right to purchase wood at stock exchange auctions as a matter of priority, which will protect domestic producers from the threat of abuse by other market participants.

The draft law is now awaiting a vote in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in the second reading.

The EBA experts actively participated in the discussions in the working group on the draft law and other events related to its discussion and explained the need for approval in a version that would satisfy both business representatives and government agencies.

The European Business Association is grateful to the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development Dmytro Natalusa and MP Bohdan Kitsak for their work on the draft law.