The National Legislative Assembly has given the go-ahead for Thailand to eliminate import tariffs on 524 information technology (IT) products in line with an agreement signed by World Trade Organization members last December.
Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said the cuts would come into effect on July 1 and be staggered over three years.
"The deal will be a boon not only for global trade and investment in IT, but also for Thailand. We expect waiving the import tariff on those products would boost Thailand's economic growth by 0.66% a year and save the country 4.7 billion baht annually," said Mrs Apiradi.
She said the tariff cuts would also help raise the competitiveness of Thai manufacturers and exporters because they are eligible to import raw materials cheaply under the deal, lowering production costs for Thai finished products.
Some 53 WTO members representing major exporters of IT products agreed on Dec 18 for the timetable to implement the deal to eliminate tariffs on 201 IT products valued at over US$1.3 trillion per year. The countries account for 90% of world trade in IT products, including China and the US, which had delayed a deal for 18 years.