The following report is divided into six sections. As background to the Uruguay Round agreement, the first two sections provide an overview of world production and trade in forest products and of the existing trade barriers to these products. The implications of the Uruguay Round for the trade in forest products is discussed in Section 3, and estimates of the likely effects on the trade of the resulting tariff changes are presented in Section 4. The potential role of "new" trade barriers to the trade in forest products are outlined and discussed in Section 5. Finally, the concluding section indicates future policy actions and trade agreements that may be necessary to overcome any remaining trade barriers and the potential new threats to the trade in forest products.
1 / The author would like to record his appreciation for the support and assistance of Jim Bourke (FAO) and research assistance of Jeanette Leitch (Canada) in preparing this report, and comments provided by Jim Greenfield (FAO) and David Elliott (UNCTAD). However, any errors or misunderstandings are the responsibility of the author alone. The analysis, views and conclusions of the report should also be attributed to the author and not to FAO.
