Thai private sector wants progress on EU free trade deal

[webfact]

Thai private sector wants progress on EU free trade deal

By The Nation

 

Trade Negotiations Department director general Auramon Supthaweethum

 

The private sector has urged the government to resume talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU).

 

Thai Chamber of Commerce vice chairman Chusak Chuenprayoth said that members supported resumption of the talks and did not want to see any further delays to the FTA, which would benefit the country.

 

He admitted the FTA would impact some Thai businesses, but said they should hurry to adjust their operations to comply with export requirements and standards under the planned agreement.

 

Waiving trade tariffs under the EU FTA would boost Thailand’s economy by 1.28 per cent or Bt200 billion, said Trade Negotiations Department director general Auramon Supthaweethum, citing a study by the Institute of Future Studies for Development.

 

Findings from a public hearing on the FTA, including concerns at its impact and proposed remedial measures, will be put to Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit in mid-October, Auramon said.

 

It should be clear by the end of this year whether Thailand is ready to resume talks with EU, she added.

 

The EU has already signed free trade deals with Singapore and Vietnam and is in talks for a deal with Indonesia. It has suspended talks with Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. Talks with Thailand that began in 2013 were suspended in 2014 following the military coup.

 

Thailand has so far signed 13 free trade accords with 18 countries – Asean partner countries, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Peru.

 

Trade with these 18 partners last year accounted for 62.8 per cent of Thailand’s total global trade.

 

The EU is currently Thailand’s fifth largest trading partner, after Asean, China, Japan and the US. It is the fifth largest investor in Thailand after Japan, China, Asean, and Taiwan.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30394964

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-09-23

 

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[Justgrazing]

36 minutes ago, webfact said:

Talks with Thailand that began in 2013 were suspended in 2014 following the military coup

Ooof' ( sound of a kick in the 'nads )

 

36 minutes ago, webfact said:

Peru.

Peru .! what's the deal with those then , sell 'em durian to put in their jauntily angled fruit bowl hats .. 

 

Edited September 22, 2020 by Justgrazing
Sp

[RichardColeman]

50 minutes ago, webfact said:

Talks with Thailand that began in 2013 were suspended in 2014 following the military coup.

Hopefully it will stay that way until free elections happen and not one third of the government selected by a junta

[Grumpy John]

1 hour ago, Justgrazing said:

Ooof' ( sound of a kick in the 'nads )

 

Peru .! what's the deal with those then , sell 'em durian to put in their jauntily angled fruit bowl hats .. 

 

Ate they freelancer or bar girls? 

[SoilSpoil]

Good news. Maybe the price of Nutella will come down. 369 Baht for a little bit at Makro.

[luckyluke]

5 minutes ago, SoilSpoil said:

 Maybe the price of Nutella will come down. 369 Baht for a little bit at Makro.

350 gr.- 198 Baht /Tops. 

(Product of Australia). 

[teacherclaire]

2 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Hopefully it will stay that way until free elections happen and not one third of the government selected by a junta

Perhaps two thirds this time.......the ugly and darker ones are of course not allowed to vote. 

[SoilSpoil]

5 hours ago, luckyluke said:

350 gr.- 198 Baht /Tops. 

(Product of Australia). 

Yes, double the price of the same quantity in Europe. 

[luckyluke]

25 minutes ago, SoilSpoil said:

Yes, double the price of the same quantity in Europe. 

Less worse than wine, apparently. 

[Youlike]

Thailand is a very polluting country, they still burn crops/fields, spray dangerous chemicals, don't work safely, have no standards....even if they have an FTA with the EU these things have to be improved or they will just stop buying produce.

[uncle_tom]

An FTA between a protectionist bloc and a protectionist country doesn't bode well - and at the best of times, the EU rarely finishes any of these things within a decade.

 

On the other hand the UK has done a deal with Japan in record time. Using that as a template, a Thai/UK deal could probably be put to bed very quickly also..

[DrTuner]

Well then, EU should press for advantages. How about amity treaty for EU citizens, 100% company ownership, reciprocity in permanent residence rules, right to own land, no work permit necessary for permanent residents and some such tiny little details.

 

Thais will try to get a lopsided deal, should be made clear who's got the leverage right from the start.

[DrTuner]

Go Germany.

 

https://www.thaienquirer.com/19479/germany-considers-halting-fta-negotiations-with-thailand-over-suppresion-of-democracy/

Quote

Germany is considering a proposal to halt free trade talks between the European Union and Thailand due to the Thai government’s undemocratic practices, according to debate within the Bundestag this week.

 

Drive it to the hilt.

[Okis]

It will not happen for the same reason EU wont sign a FTA with Cambodia.  

[Okis]

17 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

Go Germany.

 

https://www.thaienquirer.com/19479/germany-considers-halting-fta-negotiations-with-thailand-over-suppresion-of-democracy/

 

Drive it to the hilt.

Cambodia have been trying to get a FTA with EU for many years now.  They keep getting shut down because EU says that the Cambodian PM is not democratic and that he uses the courts to hunt down political dissidents and banning opposition party's from politics. 

 

Sounds familiar? 

 

 

Edited October 8, 2020 by Okis