First meeting on Thailand-EU free trade to be held in September
The first meeting towards a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Thailand and the European Union (EU) is scheduled for September in Brussels.
Department of Trade Negotiations (DTN) director-general Auramon Supthaweethum said on Wednesday that the Thai team involved in the negotiations had, on Tuesday, met Christophe Kiener, head of Unit for South and Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Directorate-General for Trade, European Commission.
The meeting aims to discuss preparations for the FTA negotiations, she said.
The negotiations will be held three times, Auramon said, adding more meetings could be held if necessary.
She explained that 19 negotiation teams have been set up based on factors, such as trade, rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, trade remedies, and technical trade barriers.
The EU will host the first meeting in Brussels, while Thailand will host the next in Bangkok in January next year. The third round would again return to Brussels in June next year.
Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit and EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis agreed to kick off negotiations on a Thailand-EU FTA in March this year, aiming to reach a deal by 2025.
Bilateral trade between Thailand and the EU in the first five months of this year totalled 599.36 billion baht (US$17.59 billion).
Thailand’s exports to the EU totalled 319.87 billion baht ($9.39 billion). Key export products include computers and its components, gems and jewellery, air-conditioners and its components, and rubber products.
Thai imports from the EU last year totalled 279.46 billion baht ($8.20 billion). Major imports included machinery and its components, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, electrical machinery and its components.
