- Negotiations
The Japanese and Thai governments started exploring a possible bilateral FTA in 2001-2002, but official negotiations didn’t start until February 2004. They concluded their talks in April 2007 and the Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (JTEPA) came into force on 1 November 2007.
The FTA is comprehensive, covering trade in goods and services, investment, intellectual property rights, agriculture, competition policy, etc.
It was strongly opposed by social movements both in Thailand and Japan. Thai groups mobilised against the FTA’s provisions on patenting life forms, toxic wastes and investment. One special concern was that the Japanese would take advantage of the deal not to ship Thai healthworkers to Japan (as under Japan’s FTAs with the Philippines and Indonesia) but to operate an exclusive health facility in Thailand, for Japanese people, who would be flown in to avail of the best medical personnel Thailand has to offer — who would then be unavailable to treat poorer Thai citizens. A major row also erupted around the legalities of Thailand’s interim military regime pushing through the ratification and entry into force of the deal during their hold on the country after the September 2006 coup. Japanese groups mobilised particularly on the potential of the deal to increase Japan’s exports of toxic waste to Thailand.
last update: May 2012
Photo: Paul the Seeker / CC BY 2.0
3-Jul-2005
Kyodo
Japan’s Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Shoichi Nakagawa expressed hope Friday for talks with Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to achieve a political breakthrough in bilateral negotiations to seal a free trade agreement by the end of July, the target date set by the two governments.
21-Jun-2005
Prospects for Japan signing free trade agreements with Thailand and South Korea are being stymied because the countries remain seriously divided on key industrial and farm sectors, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported yesterday quoting diplomatic sources.
21-Jun-2005
The Thailand-Japan free trade area (FTA) negotiations will resume in July, with discussions over liberalising steel imports postponed until later rounds, even though Tokyo has come up with a new proposal on the controversial issue, according to Finance Minister Somkid Jatusripitak.
17-Jun-2005
The Ministry of Industry said on Thursday it is confident that the conclusion of the Thailand-Japan free trade area (FTA) agreement will be reached on schedule in July after representatives of the two countries met this week to discuss the details of the plan, especially on issue of automobile and electronic parts.
11-May-2005
Bangkok Post
Thailand’s Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs yesterday urged labour unions across the country to take a stand against the Thai-Japanese free trade area (FTA) ahead of a new round of talks in July.
7-May-2005
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday took local industrialists to task for criticising the government’s efforts to forge a free trade area (FTA) agreement with Japan, even as negotiators on both sides continued working to close a deal.
6-May-2005
The Thai-Japanese free trade agreement should not put German car makers at a disadvantage, German ambassador Andreas von Stechow said yesterday.
5-May-2005
Thai auto parts manufacturers and industrialists remain adamantly opposed to liberalising car imports under the proposed Thai-Japan free trade area agreement.
5-May-2005
Agreement on the initial phase of the Thailand-Japan free trade agreement is expected by July, according to Finance Minister Somkid Jatusripitak.
5-May-2005
The Thai team overseeing the free trade agreement negotiations with Japan have reached agreement on the controversial issue of liberalisation of steel, according to a source close to the national committee overseeing the talks.
