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  1. Negotiations

US-Thailand


The US and Thailand started negotiations on a comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement in June 2004.

Like other recent bilateral free trade agreements with the US, the US-Thailand FTA will cover investment, services, government procurement, intellectual property, as well as agriculture. Many expect it to be modeled on the US-Singapore FTA.

The negotiations have attracted strong opposition and concern among many Thai social movements, farmers to people with HIV/AIDS. A broad civil society coalition, FTA Watch, was formed at the outset to closely monitor the process from a public interest perspective. (Likewise, business interests set up their own US-Thai FTA Coalition.) Under the banner of "sovereignty not for sale!", key issues of popular concern include access to medicine, GMOs in agriculture and patents on life.

The last round of talks took place in Chiang Mai in January 2006 with 10,000 people protesting in the streets and disrupting the meeting. Negotiations have not resumed since.

last update: May 2012

Thai-US FTA talks: Deadlock looks set to be broken
5-Jan-2006     The Nation
Thai finance officials will for the first time make an offer to open up the country's financial services, which should make or break the proposed Thai-US free-trade agreement (FTA) during talks next week, says a Thai finance source.
CRS report for Congress: US-Thailand FTA negotiations
30-Dec-2005    
The US-Thailand FTA negotiations are of interest to Congress because (1) an agreement would require passage of implementing legislation to go into effect; (2) an agreement could increase U.S. exports of goods, services, and investment, with particular benefits for agricultural exports; and (3) an agreement could increase competition for U.S. import-competing industries such as textiles and apparel and light trucks, thereby raising the issue of job losses.
FTA 'to bar cheap Aids drugs'
12-Dec-2005    
Aids patients are unlikely to gain access to cheaper drugs after the free trade agreement between Thailand and the United States is signed, as the planned Thai-US FTA is likely to protect only American patented drugs.
Thai-US free trade talks stuck on finance sector
23-Nov-2005     Bangkok Post
The latest round of bilateral free trade negotiations between Thailand and the United States in London hit a serious snag over how much to liberalise the sensitive finance sector, one of the negotiators said.
FTA negotiators fear financial sector liberalisation could trigger capital outflow
25-Oct-2005     MCOT
Dr. Narongchai Akraseranee, chairman of the Working Group on FTA Negotiations, reaffirms that Thailand will not speed up the opening of its financial sector because domestic players are not ready for such competition. The Working Group is also concerned about possible capital outflows once liberalisation frees up deposit transactions.
As the TNCs catch you: An analysis of the liberalization of biotechnological products in the Thai-US FTA
21-Oct-2005     APRN
One of the books the Thai Prime Minister suggested his cabinet members read was “As the Future Catches You” by Juan Enriquez, a Mexican writer. The book's contents relate to the fact that countries need to catch up with the development of biotechnology. Otherwise they will be alienated and left behind.
'Negative list' approach seen for US talks
13-Oct-2005     Bangkok Post
Thai negotiators could ultimately be forced to accept a "negative list" approach in negotiating the Thailand-US free trade area agreement, according to Pongpanu Svetarunvra, deputy director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office. Under a negative list approach, all sectors and services will be liberalised except for those explicitly stated in the agreement.
US, Thailand make 'significant progress' in free trade talks
4-Oct-2005     AFP
The United States and Thailand have made "significant progress" in their latest round of talks to forge a free trade agreement, the US Trade Representative's office said on Monday.
Hawaii talks leave key points out
3-Oct-2005     Bangkok Post
Thailand and the United States have sorted out some technical issues but not major points during the week-long fifth round of the Thailand-US free trade talks that ended yesterday in Hawaii.
Negotiations on Thai-US FTA on well progress
2-Oct-2005     MCOT
Negotiations between Thailand and the United States on a planned bilateral free trade area (FTA) are on well progress in its fifth round, with Washington agreeing in principle to protect Thai intellectual property on the Internet and to use the Thai laws to take care of the environment.

Referenced sites

Citizen's Trade Campaign: US-Thailand FTA

A US campaign website on the Thai-US FTA

FTA Watch

A coalition of activists, lawyers, NGOs, social movements and labour groups monitoring the US-Thailand FTA negotiations.