No pressure on Bangkok to join TPP: US envoy

In an exclusive interview with The Nation, US Ambassador Kristie Kenney answered every question that Thai people have concerning both on political and trade issues. 

“The US Embassy issues about 50,000 visas to Thai citizen each year based on US law exclusively. There is no comment on Thai politics. The visa applications come from all political parties, all part of life, young people and old people. There is no [involvement in] Thai politics and we don’t interfere on Thai politics,” explained the ambassador.

Asked about other hot issues such as the progress of the TPP, which has become a major topic of discussion on the international stage, Kenney said that only Thailand knows whether the pact will really benefit the Kingdom.

Thailand can make a decision on whether and when to the TPP, which the ambassador said she foresees as a pact that will benefit all participating countries. But she admitted that some challenges await Thailand, because the pact will include all issues including intellectual property rights, which is quite a sensitive topic for the Kingdom.

“The IPR is a very complicated topic. But as Thailand has a policy to promote a creative economy, it makes [the US] feel that there are strong improvements in Thailand’s intellectual property protection and promotion. We are firmly confident that the IPR protection and creative economy will continue to develop in Thailand,” said the ambassador.

The US and other TPP partners have an ambitious schedule to complete the first part of the pact by the end of this year. The TPP has the potential to become the US’ largest trading bloc. It is a very comprehensive agreement covering liberalisation of trade in goods, services and investment, as well as promotion of stronger cooperation on other issues related on economic integration.

Nine Asia-Pacific countries are TPP members: Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the United States. Japan has also announced its intention to join the TPP talks.

Asked whether joining the TPP could cause Thailand to lose export privileges to the US under its Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), the ambassador said she cannot comment specifically on that issue as it involves particular economic factors. However, she said that American businesses would still consider Thailand as a strong economic partner.

Thailand is a great country for American investors and traders, she said, adding that the country would always be an important investment and trading destination for Americans.

Kenney, who has been the ambassador here since 2011, also noted that she will continue in her job for the remaining two years in her term, aiming to strengthen not only cooperation in the government, but also the private, public and farming sectors.

The ambassador takes trips up-country every month to experience Thai culture and ways of living, and to survey American and Thai businesses nationwide.