The European Commission has signed a treaty that legitimizes a Vietnamese government agency that previously facilitated the smuggling of roughly $500-million-worth of endangered trees. Files obtained by New Internationalist show that the Commission decided to proceed with the treaty despite having evidence of the agency’s past actions.
The agency in question is Vietnam’s management authority for the UN Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Anyone who wishes to move a threatened tree species across international borders must seek approval from the local CITES management, which is supposed to ensure it is legally and sustainably sourced.
