Thailand will talk to Australia and New Zealand in the second half of the year to ramp up trade and update regulations after its free-trade agreements (FTAs) with the two countries have stood for 14 years.
Auramon Supthaweethum, director-general of the Trade Negotiations Department, said the talks will centre on trade competition, government procurement and other new issues now covered by FTAs.
The Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement (Tafta) came into effect on Jan 1, 2005. The agreement calls for liberalisation of trade in goods, services and investment, as well as for cooperation in working out obstacles to trade caused by non-tariff measures, such as restrictive sanitary and phytosanitary regulations and anti-dumping actions.
The agreement is targeted at expanding two-way trade in goods and services and increasing investment on both sides, as well as strengthening the relationship between the countries.
Mrs Auramon said Tafta helped boost bilateral trade between Thailand and Australia by 160% to US$16.7 billion (531 billion baht) last year.
The Thailand-New Zealand Closer Economic Partnership has been in effect since mid-2005. The pact resulted in bilateral trade increasing by 208% to $2.38 billion last year.
Australia and New Zealand eliminated import tariffs for all items from Thailand in 2015. Thailand agreed to cut tariffs on imported goods from New Zealand on a gradual basis and waived tariffs for sensitive products such as tea, coffee and milk from 2025.