Signing of FTA with Chile expected by August
Thailand and Chile are expected to wrap up talks on their bilateral trade pact by August after progressing to the fifth round recently.
"The Thai and Chilean economic ministers are expected to sign the free-trade pact during the Apec Ministerial Meeting in Russia in September, so that the agreement can be enforced before the end of this year," Srirat Rastapana, director-general of the Commerce Ministry’s Trade Negotiations Department, said yesterday.
The Thailand-Chile Free Trade Agreement, which will become the second such arrangement with a Latin American country after Peru, is expected to result in a big boost in two-way trade from the current level of about US$800 million (Bt25 billion) a year. Trade and investment are expected to grow by 30 per cent annually, the department’s study shows.
Exports with high potential are pickup trucks, cement, electrical appliances, plastic pellets, rubber products, and canned and processed foods. Services and investments with opportunities to grow in Chile are engineering, logistics, energy, mining and retailing.
Expanding investment between the two partners will help eliminate distance barriers, facilitate logistics and cut transport costs in the long run.
The negotiations kicked off in April last year with the goal of laying down a comprehensive framework to liberalise trade in goods and services and to open up investment.
Meanwhile, Thai-made double-door refrigerators will enjoy better access to the Indian market after the two countries recently agreed to extend the list of products under the Early Harvest Scheme of the Thailand-India Free Trade Agreement from 82 to 83 items.
The product has high potential to grow in India. It now occupies 24.9 per cent of the market there. Thailand is the third-largest exporter of the product to India after South Korea and China.
