Brazilian President Confirms Illegal Mahogany Trade to United States, Supports Global Ban

Greenpeace is calling on President Bush to return more than $10 million of Brazilian mahogany currently being held in U.S. ports in light of Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso's confirmation yesterday that the illegal mahogany trade continues despite his government's efforts to halt it. He also announced his continued support for international efforts to ban mahogany logging and trade. The United States needs to begin to investigate and prosecute companies that purchase illegal timber, and to develop polices that ensure illegal forest products do not enter the United States, says Greenpeace.

During his speech made on Brazilian national radio, President Cardoso confirmed that restrictions imposed by the Brazilian environmental agency IBAMA have been ignored. "Unscrupulous loggers have felled trees in illegal areas and transported them clandestinely to other zones where their handling is permitted," he said. "During this dispute, entrepreneurs and loggers managed to gain legal authorizations that conflicted with the national interest in preserving mahogany."

"Brazil's President Cardoso has made it abundantly clear - the mahogany trade is illegal andÝ governments need to support the mahogany ban," said Scott Paul, Greenpeace Forest Campaigner. "President Cardos has sent a strong warning to organized crime rings in the Amazon, now President Bush needs to send a strong warning to U.S. companies that continue to buy the contraband wood."

During its investigation, Greenpeace uncovered evidence that the United States continues to receive illegal mahogany through several major ports, including Baltimore, Houston, Miami, Charleston, S.C., Gulf Port, Miss., and Norfolk, VA. As reported in The Wall Street Journal on March 29, 2002, Greenpeace's on-going investigation revealed that at least $10 million worth of shipments have arrived into U.S. ports following Brazil's October moratorium on mahogany exports. Government officials have been holding the mahogany for more than a month until authorities could deem whether or not it is illegal.

The campaign to ban illegal mahogany intensified in October 2001, following a Greenpeace report, titled "Partners in Mahogany Crime," that exposed rampant illegal trade in mahogany. Based on Greenpeace's investigation, the Brazilian government halted all mahogany trade. In spite of this moratorium, several powerful exporters took legal action and continued to ship mahogany. Despite a tougher ban imposed in December, some companies have managed to continue exporting to the United States and other countries.