Thai government urged to speed up talks on new FTAs

BANGKOK, August 2 (TNA) - The Thai National Shippers' Council (TNSC) has proposed that the government accelerate its negotiations on new free trade areas (FTAs) in order to boost the national export growth. TNSC Chairperson Ghanyapad Tantipipatpong voiced the proposal on Thursday, citing a new FTA between Thailand and the European Union (EU) as an example in order to reduce import tariffs against Thai exports shipped to the 28-nation EU trade bloc if the bilateral Thai-EU FTA is successfully concluded. Ghanyapad pointed that exports of some Thai products to the EU market now face higher tariffs than rival exporting countries, namely, for instance, Thai exports of frozen shrimps are imposed a 12 per cent-import tariff, compared with the zero per cent-tariff imposed on those exported from the Philippines, and Thai exports of pipeapple juice are imposed an even much higher import tariff of 33 per cent. The TNSC chairperson also proposed that the Thai government speed up the conclusion of new FTAs under the frameworks of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in order to boost Thai exports to more markets and to ease negative impacts on Thai exports from the ongoing trade war between the United States and China. Besides, the TNSC chairperson urged the Thai government to promote more use of FTA rights with other member countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan and South Korea, especially for fruit products which have been categorized as food items to serve the world's aging societies, including Thailand. The TNSC chairperson also suggested that Thai exporters rely more on local exchange rates for their trade with neighboring markets to distribute their risk factors, and that the Thai government speed up developing further the national logistics system, especially at a goods distribution center in Laem Chabang Deep Seaport in Chon Buri Province in the Thai East. (TNA)