Goods imported from Thailand already enjoy a favorable tariff treatment, hence a free-trade agreement (FTA) or a similar mechanism is not necessary to stimulate bilateral trade, the Thai representative office in Taiwan recently said.
In an interview with the Central News Agency, Porpot Chagyawa, the head of the Economic Affairs Section of the Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei, acknowledged that Taiwan has been seeking to sign FTAs or similar trade pacts with its major trading partners, including Thailand.
However, Thai exports to Taiwan already enjoy low to zero tariff treatment, so an FTA is not imperative, she said.
The global economic downturn affected bilateral trade last year, she noted, but the momentum has picked up this year and it is considered robust at present.
According to the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), Thailand is Taiwan’s 12th-largest export market. The total volume of exports to Thailand last year stood at US$3.82 billion, a 22 percent drop compared with the previous year.
Taiwan is Thailand 11th-biggest trading partner and 18th-largest export market. Taiwanese businesspeople are the third-largest group of foreign investors in Thailand, with combined investments of US$12.5 billion. That figure, however, is on the decline, according to TAITRA.
Taiwan has long been eyeing an FTA with Thailand, hoping that such a pact would give it a foot in ASEAN’s door.
The Nation, an English-language newspaper in Thailand, recently quoted Berton Chiu (邱柏青), director of the economic division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Thailand, as saying that Taiwanese investors are pining for an FTA with Thailand as a means of increasing their competitiveness in third markets.
Chagayawa said that according to her office’s initial assessment, the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) between Taipei and Beijing would have a minimal effect on Taiwan-Thailand trade ties.
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