Eu Trade Agreement with Thailand

Negotiated agreement, meetings, factsheets, cycle reports However, in December 2017, the EU Foreign Affairs Council decided to continue the gradual resumption of engagement with Thailand. The decision indicated that the EU could consider resuming negotiations on a free trade agreement provided Thailand has a democratically elected civilian government under the new constitution. End of July 2020: Jurin Laksanavisit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, met with Phil Hogan, European Commissioner for Trade, in June. The current position of the European side is “exploratory” in determining whether the conditions are appropriate for a free trade agreement. The EUD had stressed that the detailed contributions to the preferred posts were premature at this stage. DTN had nevertheless stressed that he was there. Many protesters are frustrated by the disproportionate use of force and march peacefully to demand justice and an end to the violence. So far, six people have been shot and more than 50 people have been seriously injured. After a violent clash between anti-government protesters, protesters marched to the police headquarters the next day to mark the building with paint. Part of these efforts includes preparing for the signing of a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) to strengthen economic and political ties with Thailand and resuming trade negotiations with Southeast Asia`s second-largest economy. March 10, 2020: EaBC representatives held another dialogue with DTN following the November 1, 2019 meeting and eabc`s december 3, 2019 letter. The EU is Thailand`s third largest export market, to which Thailand sells goods and services worth €22.9 billion, mainly machinery and vehicles. In addition, the EU`s free trade agreement with Vietnam entered into force in 2020, reinforcing the Thai government`s urgency to reach an agreement.

Like Thailand, Vietnam is strong in export-oriented production, but its low EU tariffs give it a competitive advantage in the region. In 2020, European Union investment accounted for 8.2% of all foreign investment in Thailand, compared to 3.8% in the United States and 15.4% in China. This number has increased each year, from just 4.4% in 2016. Chambers noted that the EU temporarily turned its back on Thailand after a military coup in 2014 toppled a democratically elected government in which Brussels suspended Bangkok`s trade privileges. However, relations normalized in 2019 after the military junta held new elections, which its candidates won. In 2020, total bilateral trade amounted to €29.1 billion ($34.5 billion), with the EU importing products from Thailand worth €17.7 billion ($21 billion) and exporting €11.4 billion ($13.5 billion). This equates to a 10% drop in imports and a 15.8% drop in exports, as the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the global economy. The Southeast Asian country wants to revive trade and business with the European Union to avoid depending on Beijing and Washington. Economists say a free trade agreement is expected in the coming years. Thai Trade Minister Jurin Laksanawisit asked the question on September 17.

A new framework for signing free trade agreements was announced in July, saying proposals for a trade pact between Thailand and the EU would be submitted to cabinet by the end of September. The EU and Thailand started free trade negotiations in 2013. The EU sought to strengthen its relations with ASEAN`s second-largest economy, while the Thai government was motivated to mitigate the impact of the loss of access to Aid for Trade under the EU`s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP). Comprehensive agreement, exports to EU regions, factsheets, help for exporters While the Vietnamese and Singaporean governments quickly rushed into adopting a trade deal with Brussels, the Thai government reacted slowly when the EU said it was interested in resuming negotiations in early 2020. 20. August 2021: EABC representatives held a follow-up dialogue with Ms Auramon Supthaweethum, Director General of the Trade Negotiations Department, to keep abreast of developments in the EU-Thailand Free Trade Agreement. This discussion included: an updated overview of the explorations of the EU-Thailand Free Trade Agreement, the current evolution of a Common Agreement Document (JUD) and EABC proposals based on the expected chapters of an EU-Thailand Free Trade Agreement. A brief summary of the event can be found here and the relevant documents for this meeting directly below.

Auramon Supthaweethum, director-general of Thailand`s trade negotiations department, said she expected negotiations with the EU to begin this year and could be concluded within two or three years. She added that the EU is increasingly seen by the Thai government as an important economic partner. In some circumstances, trade negotiations with a trading partner have been concluded but have not yet been signed or ratified. This means that although the negotiations have been concluded, no part of the agreement is yet in force. Thailand is also a member of ASEAN, founded in 1967. ASEAN currently consists of 10 members, including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. ASEAN has implemented a number of free trade agreements with its trading partners, including ASEAN Australia and New Zealand, ASEAN China, ASEAN India, ASEAN Japan and ASEAN Korea. In addition, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (“RCEP”), a free trade agreement between 10 ASEAN countries and their six trading partners, Australia, China, India, Korea, Japan and New Zealand, was signed in November 2020.

The EU is Thailand`s fifth-largest trading partner after ASEAN, China, Japan and the United States, which account for about 7.5% of the country`s total trade. On the other hand, Thailand is the EU`s 26th largest trading partner and the 17th largest trading partner for imports. According to information from a meeting of the Minister of Commerce and the EU Ambassador on 14 June 2021, Thailand is seeking to establish a Joint Agreement Document (JDB) to serve as a framework for negotiations on free trade agreements, which are expected to start next year (2022). The Common Understanding Document will cover trade in goods, trade in services and investment, as well as other areas of interest such as intellectual property, government procurement and e-commerce. “If a free trade agreement is concluded in the next few years – which we expect – the EU could consolidate its place in the Thai economy,” he added. “As China becomes a more important economic partner with Thailand, the potential dependence will be offset by economic relations with the US, Japan and the EU,” he told DW. Thailand and the EU resume negotiations on free trade agreements The EU has concluded trade agreements with these countries/regions, but both sides are currently negotiating an update. “There are signs that things are picking up between the two as the two look for ways to boost trade and investment to diversify from over-reliance on China as a market,” said Trinh Nguyen, senior economist for the Asia-Pacific region at Natixis Investment Managers. In 2014, the Thai military took control of the government in a coup and suspended the constitution, leading to a breakdown in relations with the EU, which cancelled trade talks. Many EU companies support their production in Southeast Asia because of their location in the region and their status as ASEAN`s second largest economy after Indonesia in Thailand.

The creation of a free trade agreement would ease trade and investment barriers for EU businesses and make Thailand an even more attractive regional base. The European Commission reports annually on the implementation of its main trade agreements during the previous calendar year. Fact sheets, Vietnamese trade in your city, texts of agreements, export reports What problem do you need to solve? There are many issues that the EU and Thailand need to resolve in order to reach an agreement. .

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