For the second time in as many years, the European Commission (EC), a group of the European Union (EU), is looking to tighten regulations on pallets used to ship product from the United States. In March, they set new standards that eliminate possible insects in wooden pallets. Now it's bark the Europeans are concerned about.

While some in the industry are lauding the measure as a step in the right direction in quality control, others are concerned about ambiguous language and topics that are not addressed in the stipulation.

The report concedes that bark-free requirements of America's major international trading partners will become the standard. Yet, during the transitional period, the NWPCA will push for the EU to comply with the existing standard.