The government says it will call a joint meeting with all stakeholders before determining Thailand's stance towards the newly formed trade bloc of 11 nations without the US.
According to Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong, the ministry assigned the Trade Negotiations Department to study the impact of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which was signed in Chile on Thursday, and call a joint meeting with all stakeholders before proposing the most appropriate directives for Thailand's official stance towards the new pact.
Eleven Pacific Rim countries signed the CPTPP, which had been revised after the US withdrew from the agreement in January 2017.
The countries are Singapore, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru and Vietnam.
The CPTPP members also welcomed the interest shown by a number of other economies wishing to join the trade bloc.
The CPTPP, also known as TPP 11, will go into effect 60 days after at least six countries complete domestic approval procedures.
The 11 CPTPP countries controlled US$10.2 trillion worth of combined GDP in 2017, making up 13.5% of the world's GDP. They have a combined population of 495 million, or 6.8% of the world's total.
In 2017, Thailand's two-way trade with those 11 countries amounted to $134.6 billion, with exports from Thailand contributing $70.3 billion, accounting for 29.7% of Thailand's exports. Thailand had a trade surplus worth $6 billion with the 11 CPTPP members last year.
"We still need to have an in-depth study before making any further decisions on the CPTPP issue, as the pact covers extensive agreements not only on free trade in goods, but also trade in services, investment and trade-related issues such as intellectual property, state procurement, labour and environmental standards, state enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises, and trade competition," Mr Sontirat said. "The new pact comes with such high requirements that we need to hear comments from all stakeholders."
Auramon Supthaweethum, director-general of the Trade Negotiations Department, said the department is monitoring the revised pact and studying the details.
He said discussions with all stakeholders are needed to decide whether Thailand should join the CPTPP.