Thai exporters’ FTA privileges utilisation in 2021 hits an all-time high
The value of Thai exports under free trade agreement (FTA) privileges last year rose by 31.40 per cent to US$76.312 billion, the highest privilege utilisation, the Foreign Trade Department said on Thursday.
Pitak Udomwichaiwat, director-general of the department, said the percentage of FTA privilege utilisation was as high as 78.17 per cent for exports from January to December 2021
The top three export markets with the highest use of FTA privileges were: Asean (US$26.28 billion – a 35.91 per cent increase), China ($25.327 billion – up 33.61 per cent), and Australia (US$8.47 billion, divided into Thai-Australian FTA of US$6.15 billion (a 23.19 per cent increase) and the Asean-Australia-New Zealand FTA of US$2.316 billion (a 16.49 per cent increase), Pitak said.
He said the top five export products with the most FTA privilege use were: heavy trucks with not more than five-tonne load; fresh durians; personnel transportation vehicles with engine capacity not exceeding 2,500cc; rubber products; and chicken meat and offal.
Pitak said the import of goods using FTA privileges in 2021 were valued at $44.871 billion, an increase of 28.51 per cent, and the percentage of FTA privilege utilisation was 25.63 per cent.
The importers used the FTA privileges the most with China, followed by Asean and Japan.
Pitak added that the GSP programme from the US ended in December 2020 and the US Congress is now deliberating a draft law to extend the privileges.
The bill is expected to be approved soon, but the conditions for granting trade privileges by the US government are expected to change, based on US priority for certain issues, such as environment and labourers, Pitak added.
