Thailand, Turkey to hold new round of FTA talks

NONTHABURI, April 20 (TNA) – Thailand and Turkey is set to start the third round negotiation on Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The talks will be held in Ankara from April 24-26 after the last talks were hosted by Thailand last December. The issues, expected to be raised during the talks next week are the FTA draft in relation to trade remedies, rules of origin, sanitary standard, custom formalities and tariff reduction. The two sides plan to wrap the result of the FTA negotiation soon, said Auramon Supthaweethum, deputy director general of the ministry's Department of Trade Negotiations. She said the FTA between the two countries if completed will benefit trade and investment. In the first stage, it will eliminate trade barriers. Turkey is the big market with a population of 80 million and is located in the connecting point between Europe and Asia. The country has good relations with the Middle East countries and can be the gateway into Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa. Thai potential commodities for export to Turkey are vehicles and parts, refrigerators, textile, seeds, Halal food, organic chemical, para rubber, electrical appliances, electronics and air –conditioners. In 2017, Turkey is Thailand’s 36th trade partner in the global market and the fourth in the Middle East. The bilateral trade was worth USD1.5 billion last year while Thailand posted trade surplus of about USD1.01 billion with Turkey. - (TNA)