[1][2] Myanmar's forest product regulations deem only wood under the control of the MTE to be legal.
[3] The MTE has been accused of corruption, specifically of accepting bribes and subcontracting to allow illegal export of mislabeled or illegally logged wood, in violation of both Myanmar law and laws on timber import in the European Union and the US.
[2] The State Timber Board was founded in 1948, after Burma achieved independence.
[4] In the aftermath of the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, the United States, European Union, Canada, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom banned MTE for its role in generating revenue for the military regime in April 2021.
[5] These countries continue to import teak from Myanmar, evading sanctions by using illegal private brokers or intermediaries to acquire Burmese teak, importing a total of $37 million in teak between February and November 2021.