The International Links of Peruvian Illegal Timber: A Trade Discrepancy Analysis

International trade and the infrastructure that supports it (regulations, institutions, practices) are important drivers and enablers of the illegal timber trade in Peru. This paper's Trade Discrepancy Analysis (TDA) identifies significant and consistent discrepancies in the international trade of wood and wood products coming out of Peru. Commerce data between Peru and it‚'s most important trading partners flagged specific issues that could potentially be related to illegal acts such as tax evasion, fraud, or money laundering. The analysis suggests that the ease to perform all these acts though trade mis-invoicing, in a context of increasing global demand for timber products, are factors that drive and facilitate illicit timber in Peru.

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