ISDS Case Map
Thailand
The Commerce Ministry is scheduled to propose to parliament on Tuesday the ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade pact, the world's biggest free trade deal, signed by 15 nations in Asia-Pacific including Thailand last November.
Sri Lanka and Thailand have expressed hope to revive talks on a free trade deal, after two rounds of negotiations.
Seeing the pact as a vital tool for economic recovery and growth, Thai ministry expects free trade among RCEP members to start by the middle of next year, following almost eight years of talks.
Thai envoy proposed to virtually restart long-stalled talks on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Pakistan, pending since 2015.
China's interconnectivity strategy under the Belt and Road Initiative enables Thailand to better exert the agreement on market opening under the framework of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.
Sources say that Brussels is keeping its powder dry in case the situation deteriorates further in Thailand. Yet it doesn’t want to annoy Bangkok pre-emptively lest it weakens relations.
With a possible resumption of talks on the EU-Thailand free trade agreement on the cards, the European Union is being urged to require labour reform as a precondition to negotiations.
The European Union is ready to resume Thai-EU free trade agreement (FTA) talks as soon as possible, senior officials have insisted.
The loss of India from the RCEP pact is a bitter blow to Thailand which had been looking forward to becoming a partner with India’s technology sector which is also very close to that of the United States.
The RCEP agreement is ready to be signed next month, and is expected to take effect in the second half of next year, said Auramon Supthaweethum, the director-general of Thailand’s Trade Negotiations Department.
