VPA-FLEGT Voluntary Association Agreement between the European Union and Honduras

In 2022, the European Union-Honduras Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) came into force. This trade agreement aims to provide a legally binding framework that ensures that all timber and relevant timber products imported from Honduras to the European Union are of legal origin. It also aims to strengthen the application of forestry legislation, governance, responsibility and transparency in Honduras. Honduras will create a timber legality assurance system to assess that timber products from all stages of the supply chain have been produced in accordance with national legislation. The system will build on existing national initiatives to strengthen forest governance and, when fully operational, Honduras will begin issuing FLEGT licenses. Honduran products with this license will automatically meet the requirements of the European Union wood regulations, and will more easily meet the requirements of the equivalent market beyond the European Union.