Thailand to resume FTA talks with EU

Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit (R) meets EU Ambassador to Thailand Pirkka Tapiola (Source: bangkokpost.com)

Bangkok (VNA) - Thailand has set a target of achieve a joint understanding document that paves the way to begin talks for the long-awaited free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) this year.

According to Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit who met EU Ambassador to Thailand Pirkka Tapiola on June 14, the joint understanding document will be used as a framework for the FTA talks by the two governments which are expected to commence next year.

The Government and the Commerce Ministry are serious to pursue FTA talks with the EU, while the EU itself hopes that Thailand would be the third ASEAN country to sign the pact after Vietnam and Singapore, Jurin said, adding once the agreement becomes effective, Thailand expects to enjoy trade and investment expansion because the EU is Thailand’s fifth largest trading partner after ASEAN, China, Japan and the US.

The FTA negotiations were put on hold after the 2014 coup in Thailand.

In 2020, bilateral trade totaled 33.1 billion USD, representing 7.56 percent of Thailand's trade with the world. Thai exports to the EU were 17.6 billion USD./.

VNA