US-Thailand
The US and Thailand started negotiations on a comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement in June 2004.
Like other recent bilateral free trade agreements with the US, the US-Thailand FTA will cover investment, services, government procurement, intellectual property, as well as agriculture. Many expect it to be modeled on the US-Singapore FTA.
The negotiations have attracted strong opposition and concern among many Thai social movements, farmers to people with HIV/AIDS. A broad civil society coalition, FTA Watch, was formed at the outset to closely monitor the process from a public interest perspective. (Likewise, business interests set up their own US-Thai FTA Coalition.) Under the banner of "sovereignty not for sale!", key issues of popular concern include access to medicine, GMOs in agriculture and patents on life.
The last round of talks took place in Chiang Mai in January 2006 with 10,000 people protesting in the streets and disrupting the meeting. Negotiations have not resumed since.
last update: May 2012
Articles
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19-Nov-2012 Les Echos Cette nuit en Asie : Obama pousse au libre-échange
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8-Dec-2010 Drug patents remain a major FTA battleground
Drug patent restrictions by the United States and the European Union in trade negotiations with emerging countries will harm the Thai pharmaceutical industry and affect local patients, say researchers. -
10-Mar-2010 Bangkok Post Trade pact with the US ’depends on Thailand’
"There is no question that President Obama’s efforts to at least start talking to a few countries in Asia about a free trade agreement are the right step. Whether Thailand is ready to engage with the US in a free trade discussion is really a question for the Thais themselves," says the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand. -
24-Sep-2009 Xinhua Thai PM says not sure when Thai-US FTA talks to resume
It is not yet clear when talks over the free trade agreement (FTA) between Thailand and the US will resume, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said from the US on Wednesday
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7-Feb-2009 Prensa Latina Tailandia y Estados Unidos reactivarán negociaciones para TLC
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5-Feb-2009 The Nation FTA talks with the US to be revived
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5-Feb-2009 Xinhua Un officiel thaïlandais prévoit la reprise possible des négociations d’ALE américano-thaïlandaises
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6-Nov-2008 Terra Empresarios tailandeses temen más proteccionismo en EEUU tras victoria Obama
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30-Jul-2008 IPS IPR violations high on Bush visit agenda
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24-Jun-2008 Thompson Financial Thailand, US to resume free trade talks - official
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29-Apr-2008 Guardian not put off by FTA woes
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4-Apr-2008 Bid to revive FTA talks with us
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17-Mar-2008 Terra Tailandia arranca ronda conversaciones para firmar TLC con EEUU
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31-Jan-2008 Bangkok Post Thailand: Private sector urges revival of FTA talks
Thai business leaders are urging the new government to press forward with bilateral free trade negotiations with the United States, aiming to receive more preferential treatment than rival countries. -
24-Jul-2007 The Raw Story US still interested in Thai free trade deal
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24-Jul-2007 End to US FTA talks won’t affect trade, says commerce chief
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11-May-2007 US action plan must be opposed, groups tell govt
Thai Aids activists and academics called on the Commerce Ministry yesterday to reject the "action plan" proposed by the United States to remove Thailand from its priority watch list for intellectual property protection. -
11-May-2007 FTA: The unstated reason for the watch list
The US decision to put Thailand on its "priority watch list" this month was prompted by failed talks on a free trade agreement, as well as the patent-busting of US-made pharmaceuticals, a former US trade official said Friday. -
21-Mar-2007 Harold Doan and Associates Thailand bilateral free trade with US alarms tuna industry key players
Despite the positive prospects of the tuna industry, key players are alarmed with the recent move of other countries like Thailand which is seeking bilateral free trade agreement with the US. -
27-Jan-2007 Thai Human Rights Commission criticises FTA with US
In what is believed to be the first ever human rights impact assessment of a US FTA conducted at national level, the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand in a draft report concludes that the FTA that Thailand has been negotiating with the United States will violate the human rights of Thai people and affect the country’s sovereignty.
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Citizen’s Trade Campaign: US-Thailand FTA
A US campaign website on the Thai-US FTA -
FTA Watch
A coalition of activists, lawyers, NGOs, social movements and labour groups monitoring the US-Thailand FTA negotiations. -
Thai Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (TNP+)
TNP+ has been instrumental in disseminating information about the implications for Thailand in signing a Free Trade Agreement with the USA and is concerned that a Thai-US FTA will strengthen existing patents on medicines, leading to an increase in the price of drugs. -
Thai-US Business Council
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US-Thailand FTA Business Coalition
Links
Upcoming events
1 Oct: Public debate on FTAs in Casablanca (Morocco) - contact 8 Oct: mobilisation in Luxembourg against CETA - contact 8-15 oct: October of resistance against TTIP and CETA in Spain - contact 15 Oct: mobilisation in Paris against CETA - contact 10-15 Oct: regional week of action against RCEP in Asia-Pacific 27-28 Oct: mobilisation in Brussels against CETA - contact
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News from the movements
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23-Sep-2016 La Diaria
Para comerte mejor. Contra los TLC y otros tratados vampiros
Suplemento especial elaborado por La Diaria, Uruguay, dedicado a los Tratados de Libre Comercio. -
23-Sep-2016 TeleSur
Dozens of Indigenous absolved in Peru’s 2009 ’Baguazo’ massacre
Dozens of Indigenous people in Peru have been absolved of accusations that they were responsible for a massacre seven years ago that killed at least 32 people, due to intense conflict triggered by the country’s free trade agreements.
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22-Sep-2016 CADTM
ATTAC CADTM Maroc organise un séminaire sur les accords de libre échange au Maroc
Il est urgent de lever le silence qui entoure cette question dans notre pays et de présenter des éléments de réflexion critique et de débat sur ce sujet -
21-Sep-2016 El Economista
Miles de personas protestan ante las instituciones europeas contra el TTIP
Miles de personas se manifestaron hoy (20-9) en el barrio europeo de Bruselas contra el TTIP y el pacto comercial ya cerrado con Canadá (conocido por CETA), aún pendiente de ratificación. -
21-Sep-2016 EurActiv
Thousands protest in Brussels against US, Canada trade deals
Thousands of protesters marched through Brussels to demand the European Union abandon planned transatlantic free trade deals. -
21-Sep-2016 Le Monde
Des milliers de manifestants à Bruxelles contre les traités de libre-échange transatlantiques
Plusieurs milliers de personnes manifestaient à Bruxelles pour dénoncer le traité de libre-échange transatlantique que l’UE négocie avec les Etats-Unis (TTIP) et son équivalent avec le Canada (CETA). -
19-Sep-2016 La Vanguardia
Unas 350.000 personas se manifiestan en Alemania contra el TTIP
Las protestas estuvieron marcadas por el ambiente festivo y por la demanda de un “comercio mundial justo” -
19-Sep-2016 Common Dreams
Hundreds of thousands march in Germany against TTIP, CETA
These agreements, says critics, ’threaten environmental and consumer protection for millions of people in Europe and North America’
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