UK inks trade deal with Thailand to boost exports
Mirage News - 18 September 2024
UK inks trade deal with Thailand to boost exports
- UK seals ambitious Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) designed to boost trade and investment with Thailand
- Pact will help create opportunities for UK businesses in the country, which is the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia
- News comes as UK auto industry set to save millions exporting cars to Thailand after rules around emissions testing changed
The UK and Thailand will today [18 September] put pen to paper on an Enhanced Trade Partnership to boost trade and investment between the two countries.
Trade Minister Douglas Alexander will sign the pact alongside Thai Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan in Bangkok this morning as part of his first visit to Asia since being appointed in July.
Thailand is the second-biggest economy in Southeast Asia and trade between the UK and Thailand is already worth £5.9 billion a year. The Thai economy is rapidly growing and its middle class is expected to more than double to almost 14 million by 2030, creating huge opportunities for UK businesses to tap into.
The new partnership signed today is designed to help the Government achieve its driving mission to grow the economy by boosting sales and investment in priority sectors such as automotive, tourism, investment, digital trade, financial services, education, and many more. The pact also commits both sides to identifying opportunities that could be delivered through a potential future UK-Thailand Free Trade Agreement.
This includes an agreement on vehicle emissions testing which saw Thailand accept the UK’s testing standards and waive the need for cars to be re-tested at Thai standards. Re-testing was time-consuming and expensive and its removal could save UK car manufacturers millions of pounds. A similar agreement is now being progressed for British motorbike manufacturers.
The UK and Thailand also recently also made it much simpler for Thai companies to import UK food and drink - from chocolate and cheese to soft drinks and frozen foods. They can now submit conformity documentation by email instead of the time-consuming process of getting paperwork physically stamped by the British Embassy. Removing this barrier will be worth around £40m-£70m to UK businesses over five years.
During his first visit to the region, Minister Alexander will also travel to Laos to attend the 56th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting. He will use the visit to speak to partners from across the region about the new government’s plans for trade and how this will support the government’s mission to drive growth throughout the economy.
Notes:
- The UK and Thailand also agreed to adopt a UK-Thailand workplan as part of the ETP and update it in the future.
- Aggregate figures on the valuation of resolved barriers are based on DBT analysis of specific market access barriers using the methodologies set out in the DBT statistical publication. To calculate the aggregate figures, the mid-point for each valuation range is added to provide a central estimate.
