InfoQuest (October 08, 2019) -- Ms. Onmon Subthawitham, director-general of the Department of Trade Negotiations (DTN) of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), revealed that DTN will host seminars nationwide in October-November this year to listen to opinions of interested parties on restoring Thailand-EU FTA negotiation. Then it will summarize research results and inputs of all parties as a reference for the effort of restoring the negotiation. It is estimated that the work will be finished in November-December this year. Meanwhile, EU will establish a new European Commission for decision-making and formulate policies for restoring the FTA negotiation.
The specific seminar schedules for different regions are as follows: (1) east region: a seminar will be hosted in Brighton Grand Hotel Pattaya, Chon Buri on October 10 (Thursday), 2019. (2) north region: a seminar will be hosted in Kantary Hills Hotel, Chiang Mai on October 22 (Tuesday), 2019. (3) south region: a seminar will be hosted in TR Rock Hill Hotel, Songkhla on October 28 (Monday), 2019. (4) northeast region: a seminar will be hosted in AVANI Khon Kaen Hotel & Convention Centre, Khon Kaen on November 7 (Thursday), 2019.
For each seminar, DTN will invite experts from academic community, government departments, and private sector to offer information about the negotiation and statistical analysis, involving goods, service, investment and opening up, intellectual property protection, government procurement, health and public hygiene, and other new trade topics, aiming to make audience know more about FTA.
According to the first seminar held in Bangkok on September 23, 2019, most enterprises hope to see the relaunch of the negotiation, in a way to create opportunities for Thai products to expand presence, such as farm produce and processed agricultural products, textile, electronic equipment, rubber and rubber products, and auto and parts, added Ms. Onmon. Otherwise, Thai enterprises worry that other countries signing FTAs with EU will enjoy greater advantages. When that happens, Thailand will lose out trade opportunities and the possibility of becoming a production base, commodity distribution and investment center in Southeast Asia. Some enterprises and social organizations worry that if Thailand opens its market or adjusts laws and regulations, government procurement, health system, intellectual property, environment and other fields will be affected. Therefore, they suggested that Thailand should be cautious in seeking negotiation, apply for exemption, and formulate relevant mechanisms to help firms to make adjustments, for example, establishing FTA foundation to help affected enterprises. When it comes to establishing FTA foundation, DTN is discussing with relevant departments to implement specific policies. The objective is to meet the demands of affected enterprises for simpler procedure in applying for aid fund, and enhance the competitiveness of applicants in agriculture, production, and service.
EU is a large market spanning 28 European countries with a total of over 500 million people. It is Thailand's 4th largest trading partner and 4th largest source of investment. In 2018, the foreign trade volume between Thailand and EU totaled 47.322 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 9.4 percent of Thailand's total global trade volume, up 6.5 percent compared with 2017. That included: goods of 25.041 billion U.S. dollars that Thailand exported to EU, up 5.1 percent, and goods of 22.281 billion U.S. dollars that Thailand imported from EU, up 8.1 percent. Thailand's major exports to EU included: computer, auto parts, gems and jewelry, circuit boards, rubber products, air conditioner and parts, and processed chicken. The major products Thailand imported from EU included: machines and parts, aeroplanes, gliders, aeronautical facility and parts, chemical products, medical supplies and medicines, electrical devices and parts, automobile parts. The past two years witnessed an increasing trend of Thailand's investment in EU. In 2018, Thailand made a total investment of 11.339 billion U.S. dollars in EU, compared with EU's investment of 7.065 billion U.S. dollars in Thailand.
Source: InfoQuest, by Phana/Tanawat/Rachada, translated by Xinhua Silk Road
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