Swiss Timber Trade Ordinance

The Act

The Swiss Timber Trade Ordinance (TTO, Ordinance No 814.02 on Placing Timber and Wood Products on the Market) outlines the obligations of operators and traders who place timber and timber products on the Swiss market. Initiated via a parliamentary initiative in 2017, an important objective of the Regulation was to align Swiss law with the EUTR and eventually seek mutual recognition.

Thus, like the EUTR, the TTO has three key components:

• It prohibits the placing of illegally harvested timber and products derived from illegally harvested timber on the Swiss market;
• It requires the “first placer” (operator) of timber products on the Swiss market to exercise due diligence; and
• It requires traders who deal in timber products after the first placing to keep records enabling basic traceability of supply chains.

The product scope mirrors the scope of the EUTR and covers a wide, but not an exhaustive range of timber and wood products. The products are categorized along HS codes and listed in Annex 1 of the Regulation.

Due diligence

"Due diligence" in the TTO context requires operators to undergo a process to minimize their risk of placing illegally harvested products on the Swiss market. The approach shares similarities with the concept of "due care" in the U.S. Lacey Act, but as in Europe, it is a prescriptive system with specific steps that must be followed. The three elements of the due diligence system are:

• Information: The operator must have access to information describing the timber and timber products, country of harvest, species, quantity, details of the supplier and information on compliance with national legislation.
• Risk assessment: The operator must assess the risk of illegal timber in the supply chain, based on the information identified during the first step, and taking into account criteria set out in the TTO.
• Risk mitigation: When the assessment shows that the risk of illegal timber in the supply chain is non-negligible, the operator must mitigate the risk by requiring additional information and verification from the supplier and/or taking further mitigation steps.

The competent authority responsible for enforcing the TTO is the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN). Organizations can develop and maintain their own DDS or seek support from a recognized inspection body. Recognition requires, among other criteria, accreditation against ISO/IEC 17020, 2012.

Due to an interruption in the overall Switzerland-EU free trade agreement negotiations in 2021, mutual recognition of the TTO and the EUTR is not being pursued for now. This means that the law also applies to material imported from the EU.

FOEN published guidance on several categories of material (CITES, EU imports, FLEGT-licensed timber, etc.) and how to treat them under the TTO. Only valid CITES documentation can be considered proof of legality, whereas FLEGT licenses, existing EUTR DDS documentation and certification status can be considered as risk mitigating properties.

Penalties

In the event of intentional violation of the prohibition to place illegal timber on the market and the due diligence requirements, there is a risk of imprisonment of up to three years or a fine. Fines for intentional violations of the provisions on traceability can reach up to CHF 20,000.

An excellent website with additional resources on the TTO was created by FOEN and is available in German, French and Italian.

Enforcement to date

FOEN has started to implement an enforcement strategy which includes priority setting via a risk- based approach and close cooperation with the customs authority. They are also building an online platform and digital workflow for controls, where operators and traders can submit their evidence of compliance.