FTA Watch - 23 January 2026

Open Letter: Comment on the SIA for the proposed EU-Thailand FTA by FTA Watch

Thai civil society organizations submitted an open letter on 23 January 2026, provides critical feedback on the Draft Inception Report of the Trade Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) for the proposed EU–Thailand Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The letter highlights key concerns regarding the adequacy and balance of the SIA’s current scope and methodology.

The organizations emphasize the need for a holistic, human-rights-based approach that goes beyond economic indicators to assess the FTA’s potential long-term and irreversible impacts on public health, food sovereignty, environmental sustainability, and policy space. Specific issues raised include:

• Threats to access to medicines due to TRIPS-plus intellectual property and government procurement provisions;
• Risks to small-scale farmers and food sovereignty from alignment with UPOV 1991 and agricultural liberalization;
• Consumer and environmental health risks, particularly from the import of harmful agricultural products and hazardous pesticides banned in the EU;
• Inadequate stakeholder inclusion, calling for meaningful participation of affected communities in the assessment process.

The letter urges the SIA team to strengthen its analytical framework to fully capture these sustainability risks and ensure the assessment fulfills its mandate to prevent harm, not merely justify trade expansion.

Download the full letter to read the detailed recommendations from Thai civil society here: