ISDS Case Map
Thailand
The US is currently the top supplier to Thailand of agricultural products and the US-Thai FTA is expected "to further open and diversify sales for these and other products, such as beef and pork, to this major market for US farmers and ranchers," a US Department of Commerce statement said.
India's proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with Thailand has hit a fresh roadblock with the latter insisting on the use of just the value-added criteria for determining rules of origin (ROO) instead of the twin criteria adopted under the early harvest scheme (EHS) presently under implementation.
Questions regarding opening up the market for sugar imports was a feature of Monday's teleconference involving Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and members of the Thailand delegation.
Negotiators and staff members working on a free trade agreement for Thailand and the United States spent the week dining on Montana beef, eating Montana grain products and enjoying Great Falls' hospitality.
Local businesses are being urged to set up distribution centres in China to take better advantage of the country's free trade area (FTA) pact with Thailand.
Even though potential commercial gains are expected from this FTA agreement, domestic industries and US companies are equally sceptical of the legislative changes in Thailand.
As the 4th round of Thailand-US free-trade negotiations start today in Montana, a key issue will be the shape of any future intellectual-property regime. The survival of Thai jasmine rice, and the people who grow it, may very well depend on whatever system is finally agreed upon.
The fourth round of trade negotiations between Thailand and its single largest trading partner, the United States, is not expected to yield any significant outcome, although both parties hope the talks starting today will help the two better understand each other and bring them closer to solving respective concerns.
Free-trade talks between Thailand and Japan may be edging toward a conclusion, thanks to better-than-expected results in the most recent round of discussions in Tokyo last week, according to a source close to the bilateral negotiations.
For US and Thai trade negotiators meeting next week in Montana, intellectual property rights protections for plant breeders and pharmaceutical innovators are proving to be the most contentious issues in negotiating a Thailand-US Free Trade Agreement (TUSFTA).
