EFTA and Thailand accelerate free trade talks
Pattaya Mail - 15 September 2022
EFTA and Thailand accelerate free trade talks
Thailand and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) are ramping up efforts to reach a free trade agreement (FTA).
After the first round of Thai-EFTA free trade agreement meetings resumed in Bangkok in June, an EFTA parliamentary committee led by Ingibjörg Ólöf Isaksen visited Thailand from September 5-9 to further discuss economic ties between the two sides and the development of sustainable economic growth.
The EFTA is an international organization that promotes economic and trade integration among its four members – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. By completing a trade deal with nations such as Thailand, the association hopes to enter new global markets.
Isaksen said EFTA nations have robust and diverse economies, but relatively limited internal markets, adding that Thailand has the potential to become a major commercial partner and source of raw materials for the group.
In 2021, the EFTA was Thailand’s seventeenth-largest trading partner. Their trade volume last year stood at US$7.5 billion, representing 1.39% of Thailand’s total trade.
Products traded between the two sides included gems and jewelry, watches and parts, automobiles, auto parts, silver bars, gold, watches and parts, automobiles, auto parts, silver bars, gold, watches and parts, pharmaceuticals, and medical products.
