ETTF

The international representation of interests of the European timber trade and timber imports is becoming increasingly important. The German Timber Trade Federation (GD Holz) is a member of the European Timber Trade Federation ETTF. This European lobby group currently has 15 member federations from Europe and an associated partner from Morocco. The ETTF represents both the interests of timber imports and of the timber trade on the European single market.

The federation was formed from mergers of European import associations and a European Timber Trade Association (FEBO). This structure is reflected in the statutes and committees of the ETTF. The current President of the European Timber Trade Federation is the Dutchman Ad Wesselink. Since 1 April 2019 Thomas Goebel has been the new Secretary General of the ETTF. He holds the office in addition to his function as the Executive Director of GD Holz. The ETTF headquarters are located in Berlin.

The European network of GD Holz plays a significant role regarding the implementation of the European Timber Regulation in all member states of the EU to the satisfaction of the resident companies and the strong representation of the interests of the timber trade also at European level.

In addition to representing interests, the ETTF also acts as an important partner in the international network of the timber trade and organises international events. For example, the ETTF co-organises the annual International Softwood Conference (ISC) and the International Hardwood Conference (IHC).

Furthermore, the European federation deals with all topics that are brought to it via the national federations and reflects these in its own committees in order to then present them to the numerous contacts with the EU Commission in Brussels.

European representation of interests is very important, because regulation and legislative procedures are increasingly coming from Brussels. National interests are thus losing importance.

GD Holz therefore supports the concerns of the ETTF intensively and in the long term. Since 2019, the ETTF has been a member of the European Confederation of Woodworking Industries CEI-Bois based in Brussels. This gives the ETTF direct access to regulators and the European Commission in Brussels.