Not wood.

• Author: Curl, Jr., Herbert
• Position: FROM READERS - Letter to the Editor

The "Trade and Consequences" article [November/December 2005] mentions invasive animal and plant species in the context of ballast water. However, the containers themselves still have cargo loaded onto untreated or improperly treated wood pallets. These have been the mechanism for introducing a number of invasive insect species, such as the Asian long-horned beetles. Under a World Trade Organization agreement, countries must justify their rules through a risk assessment and then adopt measures that impose the least restriction on trade while still achieving an undefined "appropriate level of protection." A country that wants to regulate wood packaging must document that insects travel in wood, that those insects pose a significant threat...