ISDS Case Map
Thailand
Free trade area agreements made between Thailand and some foreign trade partners have caused a lot of concern and unhappiness among farmers and business operators.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday took local industrialists to task for criticising the government's efforts to forge a free trade area (FTA) agreement with Japan, even as negotiators on both sides continued working to close a deal.
The Thai government must become more efficient and enact more ironclad laws in order to avoid unnecessary legal disputes with US investors once the Thailand-US free trade area (FTA) agreement takes effect, says a local researcher.
The Thai-Japanese free trade agreement should not put German car makers at a disadvantage, German ambassador Andreas von Stechow said yesterday.
Thai auto parts manufacturers and industrialists remain adamantly opposed to liberalising car imports under the proposed Thai-Japan free trade area agreement.
Agreement on the initial phase of the Thailand-Japan free trade agreement is expected by July, according to Finance Minister Somkid Jatusripitak.
Thailand was Robert Zoellick's first stop on a week-long visit to Southeast Asia to discuss economic, security and political issues.
The Thai team overseeing the free trade agreement negotiations with Japan have reached agreement on the controversial issue of liberalisation of steel, according to a source close to the national committee overseeing the talks.
The head of the government's Thai-Japanese free trade area (FTA) negotiating team yesterday expressed confidence that Thailand and Japan would come to a conclusion on a free trade deal by July, but said that Thailand's stance on the issue remained confidential.
Deputy US Secretary of State Robert Zoellick is determined to break a free trade impasse with Southeast Asia during a visit to the region this week.
