Thailand, EU Agree To Resume Free-Trade Agreement Talks By March - Commerce Minister

Thailand and the European Union have agreed to resume negotiations on a free-trade agreement (FTA) within the first quarter of 2023, almost 10 years after the discussion of the issue was suspended, Thai Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said on Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th January, 2023) Thailand and the European Union have agreed to resume negotiations on a free-trade agreement (FTA) within the first quarter of 2023, almost 10 years after the discussion of the issue was suspended, Thai Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said on Thursday.

"Both sides aim to complete the negotiations within the first quarter of this year," Thai daily newspaper The Nation quoted Laksanawisit as saying after his meeting with European Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis in Brussels.

Dombrovskis, in turn, said that both Thailand and the EU were seeking a high-quality FTA agreement.

"The news is good: both sides want a comprehensive, high-quality agreement, with ambitious sustainability provisions," the EU official tweeted.

The EU suspended trade talks with Thailand in 2014 after a military coup led by Prayut Chan-o-cha toppled a civilian government. In 2009, he was elected the country's prime minister.

The European Union is considered Thailand's fifth largest trading partner following the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, the United States and Japan. In 2022, trade between Thailand and the EU was estimated at $41.03 billion. Thailand's main exports to the EU were computers, gems and jewelry, air conditioners and rubber, while the main imports were cars and pharmaceutical products.