Thailand: Free trade talks with EU likely this year
The Nation | March 8, 2010
Free trade talks with EU likely this year
By PETCHANET PRATRUANGKRAI
Thailand is expected to start a first round of negotiations toward a bilateral free-trade agreement with the European Union by the middle of the year, a move seen as necessary if the Kingdom is to remain competitive with potential rivals for European business such as Vietnam and Singapore.
Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot said the Cabinet had recently approved plans for the ministry to set up a special committee to conduct a feasibility study on negotiating an FTA with the EU.
"The study is expected to be concluded in the next few months, to determine whether the Kingdom should start bilateral talks with the EU," said Alongkorn.
The EU last week announced that it would start negotiations for bilateral trade pacts with Vietnam and Singapore soon, as the Asean-EU FTA talks have been suspended for a year.
Previously, the EU wanted to conclude an FTA with Asean as a whole. However, problems arising due to the varying development levels and differing interests of Asean’s members led to the suspension of the talks in 2008. The EU, therefore, expressed interested in bilateral agreements with certain countries in Asean, including Thailand.
Alongkorn said Thailand must ensure that any FTA with the EU created benefits for the Kingdom. The government needs time to carefully consider all the possible impacts of such a deal, he said.
"Although the FTA negotiation is a must, we should consider how to achieve the maximum benefits, and not rush into negotiations," he said.
The EU is a major export market for Thailand. Thai shipments to 15 countries in the EU were worth US$16.06 billion (Bt524 billion) last year, or 10.4 per cent of total export value.
Nuntawan Sakuntanaga, director-general of the Trade Negotiations Department, said that under Article 190 of the Constitution, the negotiations must include the participation of Parliament, a process that would take several months.
If the FTA is successfully negotiated, it will be a comprehensive agreement liberalising trade in goods, services and investment.
However, some issues arising from development-level differences will be of concern, including environmental and labour issues, and issues relating to the opening of certain service businesses, Nuntawan said.
