Dow Jones | Feb. 25, 2004
BANGKOK -(Dow Jones)- Thailand expects to sign its comprehensive free trade agreement with Australia in May, as many key issues have been settled, the commerce ministry's Permanent Secretary, Karun Kittisataporn, said Wednesday.
"Negotiations on many trade issues have been concluded. Now we just have a few things to sort out," Karun told reporters.
If the talks go according to plan, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is expected to attend the deal signing ceremony in Australia in May, Karun said.
The deal with Australia would be Thailand's first free trade agreement with a foreign country that covers a comprehensive list of goods and services, Karun said.
"It will cover an array of things ranging from agricultural goods to services, investment and intellectual property rights," he said.
Last year, Thailand signed a preliminary free trade agreement with Bahrain and started free trade in agricultural products with China.
Karun said Thailand and Australia have concluded more than 95% of the negotiations, with three areas to be discussed further next month.
"We are asking whether we might be allowed to temporarily keep tariffs unchanged on some agricultural items in case Australian goods flood into our market right after the FTA is implemented," Karun said.
Under the initial agreement, Thailand and Australia will eliminate trade barriers within 10 years, Karun said.
Currently, Thailand's import tariffs average around 16%, he said.
"Secondly, we are negotiating ways to deal with trade disputes in the future. We are discussing the details about arbitration," Karun said.
The third pending issue is whether permanent residents in both countries are eligible for the free trade privileges.
Thailand's free trade deal with New Zealand is likely to be concluded in October, Karun said.
Apiradi Tantraporn, director-general of the commerce ministry's trade negotiations department, said Thailand is also likely to sign free trade agreements with Japan and Bahrain this year, and with China, the U.S., India and Peru in 2005.
Apiradi expects talks with U.S. trade officials to start in June.Dow Jones:
