Each year, the Department of Trade Negotiations draws up a free trade agreement (FTA) negotiation plan to be used as a target for moving the negotiations forward. and send signals to stakeholders about the progress of each FTA negotiation in order to obtain information And it can be used to plan for doing business, trading or preparing for it in advance and in the year 2023 the same. The Director General of the Department of International Trade Negotiations” has published an FTA negotiation plan. let’s follow
FTA negotiation plan in 2023, Ms. Moreover He has identified 3 main aspects: side 1 will move on to negotiate the Thailand-EU (EU) FTA as soon as Lanka finishes by 2024 and the third aspect: Accelerate studies on the benefits and effects of FTAs with new trading partners such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Pacific Alliance and 55 African countries.
Accelerate the calculation of one Thai-EU FTA.
Ms Oramon said that Mr Jurin Laksanawisit, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade was responsible for opening the Thai-EU FTA negotiations. led the delegation responsible for the Thailand-EU FTA negotiations to Brussels, Belgium on January 25, 2023, and met Mr. Valdis Dombrowskis, Vice President of the European Commission for Economic Affairs and European Commissioner for Trade. or equivalent at Deputy Prime Minister and EU Trade Minister level to discuss this matter
The results of the discussion can be said to be recorded as a historic date for Thailand-EU trade. because both sides have conclusions and goals when expressing their intention for both sides to carry out internal processes This will lead to an FTA negotiation between the two sides as soon as possible.
Shortest deal closing time
It is considered that the progress of speeding up the opening of the Thailand-EU FTA negotiations this time is the least time-consuming and the shortest in negotiations on the opening of the FTA negotiations because it is short since Mr. Jurin’s travel time. as the leader of the negotiating team And shorter than the meeting time between Thailand and the EU which takes a short time O Mr Jurin flew to Brussels on the night of January 25, 2023, leaving Bangkok for Munich, Germany, taking almost 12 hours of flying time, then connecting to Brussels for another 1.25 hours, arriving in Brussels at 10:00 AM. It is morning, but it is morning because Brussels is 6 hours slower than Thailand, then Mr Jurin entered the hotel. Then go out to eat. In the afternoon, travel to visit the EU Parliament to hear about the working process. How to publish EU law regulations Until the meeting time around 5:00 pm, he went to meet Mr. Valdis Dombrowski, and then the EU hosted a dinner. It took less than 3 hours of meeting and discussion until the meal was finished. Then, on the morning of January 26, 2023, Mr. Jurin immediately boarded a plane back to Thailand. It was a trip back with tangible success.
The EU’s deputy prime minister is excited about the Twitter post.
After the discussion with Mr Jurin, Mr Valdis Dombrowski was so excited about Thailand. Even posting on Twitter, Valdis Dombrovskis said he was glad to welcome Prime Minister Jurin. to discuss the possibility of opening Thai-EU FTA negotiations, the results of the negotiations went well Both sides want to reach an agreement that is comprehensive, of high quality, and has a chapter that addresses with sustainability issues. Both sides will return to start each other’s internal processes immediately. The aim is to open the Thailand-EU FTA negotiations as soon as possible.
apply for Cabinet approval moving forward to discuss
when both sides Thailand-EU have agreed to move forward with FTA negotiations.On February 3, 2023, Mr Jurin added. Signed a letter to the Cabinet Secretary (Cabinet) to bring the Thailand-EU FTA negotiation framework to the cabinet meeting for consideration. and when the Cabinet meeting approves a negotiation framework requesting approval from The Cabinet allows the Minister of Trade to announce the opening of negotiations with EU representatives. On the other hand, the EU seeks approval from all 27 member states.
It is expected to be within the first quarter of this year. Both sides can start counting on FTA negotiations between them. And Thailand will be the third country in ASEAN, after Singapore and Vietnam, to make an FTA with the EU and it will benefit Thailand. In terms of trade, investment, trade in services and others, which will help make money. can create a lot of future for Thailand
The importance of the Thai-EU FTA
Ms Oramon gave additional information on the importance of the Thai-EU FTA that the EU is the fourth largest trading partner after China, the US and Japan, 7% of Thai trade with the world Thailand exported to the EU worth $22,794 million, an increase of 5.17% or about 843,378 million baht.
other parts The result of a study in the Department. Having hired the Institute for Future Studies to study, it found that if all import taxes are removed, it will increase Thailand’s GDP by 1.28%, worth 205,000 million baht a year, helping exports to the EU to increase by 2.83% or 216,000 million per year and imports from the EU increase by 2.81% or 209,000 million baht per year and socially, it will reduce the poor by 270,000 people, farm income increases by 1.1% and the poverty gap decreases 0.07%.
“According to the results of the study, the Thailand-EU FTA has many benefits for Thailand. And that is also what the Thai private sector wants. Foreign investors also want because they want to move their production base to Thailand and then exported to the EU But there was a challenge. including intellectual property, patents, plant varieties, labor, state procurement Trade and sustainable development, etc., which is what Thailand has already prepared. And there is still much progress. Including being a leader in many issues like BCG,” said Oramon.
However, Ms. confirmed. Furthermore If negotiations start What Thai Entrepreneurs Want to enter the EU market can report to the Department, the Department is ready to discuss Also opened a forum for discussions with all relevant sectors. Which part do you want to negotiate? Or if you want time to adjust, just let me know and I’ll negotiate for you, so don’t worry. It was confirmed that the interests of the country would not be disadvantaged in the negotiations.
Accelerate the process of closing 4 remaining FTA agreements
for FTAs on ongoing negotiations Mrs said Priority will be given to speeding up the process of closing the 4 FTA agreements that are currently being negotiated, namely the FTA of Canada, Turkey and Sri Lanka Let the discussions move forward and come to conclusions as planned. The goal is to be completed by the year 2024.
The Thai-EFTA FTA has now met 3 rounds after the Thai-EFTA It includes Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Announced the opening of FTA negotiations in June 2022, with the progress of both at the top of the negotiating group. and sub-group meetings where 15 key issues were discussed: trade in goods, rules of origin; Trade facilitation and customs clearance trade recovery measures Sanitary and phytosanitary measures Measures on technical barriers to trade, trade in services, investment, e-commerce Intellectual property, competition, public procurement Trade and Sustainable Development Technical cooperation and capacity building and dispute resolution
For the ASEAN-Canada FTA The ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement (ACAFTA) Negotiating Committee has already met. It is scheduled to meet four times a year, with 17 sub-group negotiating working groups established to discuss each topic, namely trade in goods, rules of origin, investment, customs formalities and trade facilitation. Sanitary and phytosanitary measures technical barriers to trade telecommunications service technical and economic cooperation intellectual property electronic commerce Competition in trade, trade in services, financial services
law and organizations Government Procurement commercial medicines and small and medium-sized enterprises
Regarding the Thai-Turkey FTA, the previous meeting has made steady progress. But it came to a halt after the COVID-19 situation, but in 2023 it will speed up negotiations with Turkey. to draw conclusions for the preparation of the FTA
While the Thai-Sri Lanka FTA held a third round of meetings in early January 2023 after not meeting since 2018 until the COVID-19 period. But after a meeting The meeting agreed that discussions would continue to reach a conclusion within 1-2 years.
Study on FTAs with new potential partners.
Mrs Oramon said that in 2023, the department has a plan to accelerate the study of the benefits and effects of FTAs with new trade partners. Specifically, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) (comprising six countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates) and the Pacific Alliance (comprising four countries: Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru). ).) and a group of 55 African countries to find new markets that will help expand trade opportunities in Thailand as requested by the private sector through the Ministry of Commerce meeting.
The importance of the GCC is valued at 39,618.52 million US dollars, which represents 6.71% of Thailand’s trade with the world. The Pacific League was at $6,239.99 million. and 55 African countries at $2,831.50 million. which if added increases the share of Thai trade with FTA pairs
In summary, Thailand currently has 14 FTAs in 18 countries.
Regarding the current FTA, Thailand has made a total of 14 FTAs with 18 countries, including ASEAN, 9 countries, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India, Peru, Chile and Hong Kong Regional Economic Agreement Partnership (RCEP) is Thailand’s latest FTA.
As a result of the FTA, Thailand’s trade with 18 FTA countries in 2022 was worth US$ 359,542.4 million or 12,542,911.58 million baht, an increase of 5.1% from FTA partner countries worth US$ 187,753.3 million or 6,591,560,000,000,000 Thailand’s major export. products such as automobiles, equipment and components Finished oil, plastic resin, gems and jewelry computer equipment and components, etc. Major imports such as electrical machinery and components, chemicals, machinery and components, iron, steel and products Other metal ores and scrap metal and products, etc.
“FTA can be seen to be an important tool that will help increase Thailand’s competitiveness. amid the challenges of the global economy through an open market Remove tariff and non-tax barriers Improve regulations to facilitate trade and upgrade to meet international standards In addition to connecting the production chain between each other, if Thailand has more FTAs with trading partners? Currently, Thailand’s trade ratio with FTA countries is 63%, and the target is set to increase to 80% by 2027, at which time Thailand’s trade will expand even more. And generate more income into the country,” said Oramon.
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