Brussels, 05/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - After Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, the EU is going to negotiate a free trade agreement with a fourth partner from the ASEAN block of countries.
On Wednesday 6 March in Brussels, during a bilateral meeting, the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso and the Thai prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, officially announced the finalisation of negotiations for a partnership and cooperation agreement between the EU and Thailand, as well as the opening of free trade negotiations between the EU27 and their third biggest trading partner in the ASEAN region. Barroso said that he was convinced that this agreement would bring substantial advantages to our relations in the area of trade and investment, which are already strong. He highlighted the fact that bilateral trade had reached a figure of €30 billion in 2011. He also pointed out that Thailand now benefited from protection for its flavoured Khao Hom Mali Thung Kula Rong-Hai rice, which was now registered in the EU as a “Protected Geographical Indication” (PGI).
The Commissioner for trade, Karel De Gucht and Thailand's minister of trade, Boonsong Teriyapirom, held a preliminary meeting on Tuesday 5 March in Brussels to discuss future free-trade negotiations. The EU and Thailand have completed their scoping exercise for their future discussions. Thailand suffered from heavy flooding in summer 2011 and is one of the stronger economies with which the EU would like to swiftly promote trade and investment. The liberalisation of tariffs on wines and spirits will be one of the EU's main priorities in the future negotiations. The EU also has a number of priorities in other areas that are regarded as sensitive sectors by Thailand, such as public procurement, foreign investment, the opening up of the services market and intellectual property.
In 2011, the EU exported €11.9 billion worth of goods to Thailand and imported €17.5 billion worth of goods. During the same year it also imported more services from Thailand (€4.8 billion) than it exported to it (€2.4 billion). Its outward foreign investment stock from Thailand reached €14.4 billion in 2010 (as opposed to €0.8 billion in Thai FDI to the EU). Thailand currently benefits from the EU's system of generalised preferences, an advantage that would in the long term be withdrawn, if a free trade agreement were concluded. (EH/transl.fl)