Trade in forest products can have significant impacts on forests in several ways. The liberalization of trade in forest products can increase trade and intensify its impacts, stimulating or facilitating new trade flows, expansion of existing flows, intensification of production techniques and expansion of productive capacity. Trade liberalization policies and rules can affect implementation of forest protection measures: the application of trade rules, as they have been interpreted to date, can interfere with conservation laws and policies, while subsidies disciplines could encourage helpful reforms.
