Thailand mulls to join in CPTPP

BANGKOK, December 4 (TNA) - The Thai government, through the Ministry of Commerce, is considering and discussing pros and cons before a final official decision will be made on whether the Thai Kingdom will join in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the world's third largest free trade area (FTA) currently with the combined value of the gross domestic product (GDP) of about 13.5 trillion US dollars. Thai Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong told journalists on December 3 that his ministry has held three meetings with over 30 relevant agencies so far to discuss and review updates about the CPTPP, as the now 11-member FTA will become effective as of December 30, 2018. Sontirat said apart from holding the meetings with the relevant agencies, his ministry, through the Department of Trade Negotiations, has organized public forums in about 40 Thai provinces in all regions across the country over the past couple of months to listen to opinions from over 1,400 people who are also considered stakeholders. According to the minister, information gathered from the meetings and public forums will be reported to Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, who oversees economic affairs, by the end of this year for the government's further deliberation on whether Thailand should join the CPTPP, with the maximum public and national benefit to be taken into account. Besides, small-grouped seminars, in which people from the Thai farm sector and all other sectors are invited to participate, will be further organized to provide proper information on the CPTPP to the stakeholders and careful discussions will be held with the existing CPTPP member economies to seek clarifications in some issues and to be briefed on updates of the world's third largest FTA. The Thai minister acknowledged that comprehensive dimensions are included in the CPTPP, namely the liberalization in trade in goods and services, as well as in investment, temporary movement of business operators, public procurement and such other trade-related issues as e-commerce, intellectual property, liberal competition policy, labor and the environment. The now 11 member-CPTPP comprises of Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, while China (Taipei), Colombia, Indonesia, the Philippines and the United Kingdom have already expressed their interest in joining in the CPTPP, which has incorporated most of the previously-agreed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) prior to the withdrawal by the United States, making the TPP, concluded in February 2016, had never come into effect. The CPTPP, which has already ratified by 7 out of the existing 11 member economies, has suspended over 20 provisions Washington favored but other countries opposed and has lessened the threshold for its enactment so that the United States' participation is no longer required. (TNA)