The government has urged the United States to restore Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) trade benefits and remove the country from its watch list for intellectual property (IP) enforcement, according to Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai.
He said the issues were among the topics raised at a meeting on Friday with US ambassador Robert Godec, who was making his first courtesy call at the Ministry of Commerce since his appointment.
Mr Phumtham, who is also the commerce minister, said the government had urged Washington to speed up the restoration of GSP privileges. The programme is designed to promote economic development by allowing duty-free entry into the US for 3,500 products from the 119 countries and territories.
The US in late 2020 revoked GSP eligibility for about one-sixth of Thailand’s GSP-eligible trade, saying the country had failed to provide “equitable and reasonable market access” for US pork products. The decision was estimated to cause losses to Thailand of about US$19 million, based on the higher tariff rates that some products, including spices and wood flooring, would face.
Mr Phumtham said the government had also urged the US to consider removing the country from the watch list for IP assets, in light of improved efforts at IP protection in recent years.
The US conducts annual reviews of IP protection by its trading partners under the so-called Special 301 provision of its trade regulations. Countries on the watch list could face the loss of trade benefits including preferential tariffs if they fail to act on the problems the report identifies.
In its 2023 report, the US did take positive note of Thailand’s amendments to the Copyright Act, which included notice-and-takedown provisions intended to address infringement online, and prohibitions against circumvention of technological protection measures.
Mr Phumtham said he and Mr Godec strongly affirmed the two countries’ strategic partnership, and that the Ministry of Commerce was ready to cooperate with the US embassy in strengthening economic relations and promoting bilateral trade and investment.
Thailand is ready to partner with the US especially in modern technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), electronics, electric vehicles, clean energy, aviation and pharmaceutical products, while the US will support US firms that invest in Thailand, he said.
Other issues covered in the talks were the government’s efforts to push small and medium-sized enterprises, amending laws and regulations that impede trade and investment, and the use of free trade agreements to drive growth, he added.
In 2022, the US was Thailand’s second biggest trade partner after China, with trade value totalling $65.27 billion. Of the total, Thai exports represented $47.53 billion and imports were worth $17.74 billion.
Key exports included computers and computer parts, rubber products, semiconductors, electrical appliances and parts, and jewellery and accessories. Key imports included crude oil, machinery and components, electrical circuits, plants and plant-based products and chemicals.