Some EU importers maintain that the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) has also played a part in an international hardwood trade shift. They may welcome the EUTR as a tool to combat the illegal timber trade.  However, they say the due diligence requirements it imposes on suppliers can deter them from the European market and make Chinese customers especially appear easier to do business with.  This is even more the case as the latter are also reported now to be buying a wider range of wood, from logs and lower quality sawn timber, to top end lumber ...