ISDS Case Map
Thailand
Thailand and South Korea will continue to work toward a bilateral free-trade agreement, according to Nitya Pibulsonggram, the minister of foreign affairs. Trade talks between the two countries were now focused on cutting tariffs for rice and fruit, two key Thai exports.
A proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Bahrain and Thailand has stalled because of the intervention of other GCC countries, officials confirmed yesterday.
India has sought a major expansion of the opportunities on offer for Indian professionals in Thailand, as the two countries rush to conclude the negotiations on a free-trade agreement (FTA) comprising trade in goods and services and investment, which is likely to be signed during Thai premier General Surayud Chulanont's visit to New Delhi in June.
Thai activist group FTA Watch has called on the Constitution Drafting Assembly to include clauses that oblige the government to seek public and parliamentary endorsement before signing international agreements such as FTAs.
Thai Aids activists and academics called on the Commerce Ministry yesterday to reject the "action plan" proposed by the United States to remove Thailand from its priority watch list for intellectual property protection.
The US decision to put Thailand on its "priority watch list" this month was prompted by failed talks on a free trade agreement, as well as the patent-busting of US-made pharmaceuticals, a former US trade official said Friday.
The Thai government should come up with concrete measures to assist small-scale farmers, who are likely to be adversely affected by bilateral free-trade agreements. Otherwise they will be forced to go out of business. This is the view of a Commerce Ministry official who has been involved in several bilateral trade negotiations.
The draft constitution has failed to fix weaknesses in the state's endorsement of international treaties, including free trade agreements (FTAs), civic groups and legal experts say. Article 186 regarding the signing of international agreements failed to say that the government must seek parliamentary backing before signing any international pact, they said.
The Thai government's showdown with multinational drug companies over compulsory licensing could result in a downgrade on Washington's watch list of countries with poor intellectual property (IP) rights protection, trade sources say.
Indian rubber planters will oppose any move to cut the duty on imports from Thailand, the world's largest rubber producer, as part of negotiations of a free-trade agreement which the two governments hope to conclude by end June.
