ID :
395430
Sat, 01/30/2016 - 04:39
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Thailand's GDP To Grow 0.77 Pct Annually If Joins TPPA -- Study

BANGKOK, Jan 30 (Bernama) -- Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by 0.77 per cent annually if it joins the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), said a study commissioned by its Commerce Ministry. The ministry's Director-General of Trade Negotiations Department, Sirinart Jaimun, said the country will gain various trade benefits if it were to join the multilateral trade arrangement. "The TPPA will help promote growth in the car, electronics, computer, garment and textile sectors. It would increase the development of the trade and the service sectors as well as environmental protection and labour standards," he was quoted as saying in the local media Friday. The country's GDP, he said, could grow by a further 1.06 per cent if other countries in the region, including Indonesia and the Philippines, were to join the pact. The study was carried out by the Panyapiwat Institute and the International Institute for Trade and Development to deliberate the pros and the cons of joining the trade agreement. The study, he said, also found that the TPPA would increase opportunities for Thailand's companies to invest overseas. "It will also promote better awareness of intellectual property rights, leading to stringent protection as well as support new innovation and research and the development of high technology," said Sirinart. According to him, the department would hand over the results of the study to the government for it to decide on whether to join the US-led trade agreement. The department, he said, would also organise a public hearing to gather views regarding the pact from all related parties before handing over the study to policymakers. TPPA members are Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Japan, Vietnam, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, US, Chile, Peru and Mexico. The pact will be signed in New Zealand on Feb 4, 2016. -- BERNAMA

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