Thai-Japan Free Trade Agreement expected by next April
MCOT News, 27.07.05
Thai-Japan Free Trade Agreement expected by next April
BANGKOK, July 27 (TNA) — Despite a few sticky issues, the leader of the Thai negotiating team reckons the Thai-Japanese Free Trade Agreement could be ready to be signed by the two leaders next April.
Mr Pisan Manwapat, head of the Thai-Japanese FTA negotiating team, called on Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Somkid Jatusripitak and Commerce Minister Thanong Bidaya yesterday to prepare for talks this Friday with senior Japanese officials. Japan’s Economy Trade and Industry Minister is due to confer with Dr. Somkid and Mr. Thanong on 31 July on this issue.
Mr. Pisan said he was instructed by the ministers to find solutions to the conflict over the origin of agricultural goods, after solutions have been found on the steel and car imports on which both sides differed.
Thailand hopes that all the remaining differences will be ironed out during the visit of the METI Minister, especially over 1,000 tariff lines for steel products. A mutually satisfactory agreement on the tariffs for car import has also been found.
Mr. Pisan said there remains a big gap to fill where over 500 items of processed agricultural products are concerned. Thailand wants to benefit from access to the Japanese market of these products but Japan has a different idea which is not acceptable to the Thai side, he said.
Thailand insists the Japan gives the kind of treatment it extends to other FTA partners including Mexico and the Philippines.
After the round of talks in 31 July in which the Thai side is optimistic for an agreement, Thai and Japanese officials would spend up to ten months to finalise a draft to be signed by their leaders around April 2006.
