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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

Thailand: Calls for rethink on privatisation, FTAs
11-May-2004    
The Thaksin government should rethink its privatisation and free-trade agreement (FTA) policies, and any such plans should go through public hearings or a national referendum, a panel of speakers at a labour seminar said yesterday.
Thailand: Activists want new law to control FTA process
11-May-2004    
Academics and social groups yesterday joined forces to propose that a law be passed to hold the government accountable for several FTA negotiations that they say have adversely impacted many sections of society as well as the country's sovereignty.
US-THAI RELATIONS: FTA with Thailand opposed
11-May-2004    
A growing campaign in the US Congress to encourage the Bush Administration to re-evaluate its policy with Thailand has reached a new height, with a leading member of the House of Representatives making moves to derail upcoming talks on free trade with Thailand.
US pushes for all-embracing free trade pact with Thailand
5-May-2004     US pushes for all-embracing free trade pact with Thailand
US business groups pushed for a comprehensive free trade agreement with Thailand, including quota-free sugar imports opposed by American farmers and a Thai guarantee to weed out corruption.
Cabinet urged to approve FTA talks with US
5-May-2004    
The Commerce Ministry will seek Cabinet approval tomorrow to kick off formal talks with the United States on striking a comprehensive pact on bilateral free trade.
FTA teams to take cautious approach
30-Apr-2004    
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has decided not to rush into free trade agreements (FTAs) due to the rise of strong opposition, a trade negotiator said yesterday.
Accords need House approval
27-Apr-2004    
Prime Minister Thaksin says he can "differentiate between Hell and Heaven." That is well and good, but I don't think he can apply his personal thinking to matters concerning the best interests of the country and the public at large.
FTA talks with US to start in June
27-Apr-2004    
Washington has made another step toward the Thai-US free trade area by convincing its Bangkok counterparts that the first round of negotiations can start in the next three months.
Proposal with the US to be highlighted
26-Apr-2004    
The government will spend 10 million baht this year on advertisements to inform the public about the benefits of free trade area (FTA) agreements, in particular the one proposed between Thailand and the United States.
Monsanto comments to USTR on US-Thailand FTA
8-Apr-2004     http://www.us-asean.org/us-thai-fta/Monsanto_Comments.pdf
Monsanto Company appreciates this opportunity to submit written comments pertaining to the initiation of negotiations with Thailand on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as notified in the Federal Register (69 ER 9419, February 27,2004).

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.