- Negotiations
The US and Thailand started negotiations on a comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement in June 2004.
Like other recent bilateral free trade agreements with the US, the US-Thailand FTA will cover investment, services, government procurement, intellectual property, as well as agriculture. Many expect it to be modeled on the US-Singapore FTA.
The negotiations have attracted strong opposition and concern among many Thai social movements, farmers to people with HIV/AIDS. A broad civil society coalition, FTA Watch, was formed at the outset to closely monitor the process from a public interest perspective. (Likewise, business interests set up their own US-Thai FTA Coalition.) Under the banner of "sovereignty not for sale!", key issues of popular concern include access to medicine, GMOs in agriculture and patents on life.
The last round of talks took place in Chiang Mai in January 2006 with 10,000 people protesting in the streets and disrupting the meeting. Negotiations have not resumed since.
last update: May 2012
28-Jun-2004
Hundreds of Thai activists today demonstrated against free trade agreements (FTAs) the government is negotiating with the US and Australia, saying they would adversely affect millions of Thais.
23-May-2004
The upcoming Thai-US free-trade agreement will benefit Thai investors as further business opportunities open up in a vast market which imports goods and services worth about US$1.5 trillion (Bt60 trillion) annually.
20-May-2004
Every time I visit Bangkok I see it. "Power is nothing without control" reads an advertising billboard for a transnational tyre company near Chulalongkorn University. This February, Pirelli’s slogan summed up the US philosophy for its proposed bilateral free trade and investment agreement with Thailand.
11-May-2004
Critics Sound Alarm in Free Trade Talks with U.S.
The Thai government is facing a growing chorus of outrage over its plans to ink a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States by next year.
11-May-2004
The Thaksin government should rethink its privatisation and free-trade agreement (FTA) policies, and any such plans should go through public hearings or a national referendum, a panel of speakers at a labour seminar said yesterday.
11-May-2004
Academics and social groups yesterday joined forces to propose that a law be passed to hold the government accountable for several FTA negotiations that they say have adversely impacted many sections of society as well as the country’s sovereignty.
11-May-2004
A growing campaign in the US Congress to encourage the Bush Administration to re-evaluate its policy with Thailand has reached a new height, with a leading member of the House of Representatives making moves to derail upcoming talks on free trade with Thailand.
5-May-2004
US pushes for all-embracing free trade pact with Thailand
US business groups pushed for a comprehensive free trade agreement with Thailand, including quota-free sugar imports opposed by American farmers and a Thai guarantee to weed out corruption.
5-May-2004
The Commerce Ministry will seek Cabinet approval tomorrow to kick off formal talks with the United States on striking a comprehensive pact on bilateral free trade.
30-Apr-2004
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has decided not to rush into free trade agreements (FTAs) due to the rise of strong opposition, a trade negotiator said yesterday.
Links
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A US campaign website on the Thai-US FTA
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A coalition of activists, lawyers, NGOs, social movements and labour groups monitoring the US-Thailand FTA negotiations.
