DA NANG: Thailand insists on supporting multilateral free trade, despite US President Donald Trump reiterating his America First policy again at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Vietnam, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
After arriving in Da Nang for the Apec's Economic Leaders' meeting, which will be held today, Mr Trump told the Apec CEO Summit Friday the United States is against multilateralism but agrees to seek bilateral agreements with countries that play "fair" with the US.
"I will make bilateral trade agreements with any Indo-Pacific nation that wants to be our partner and that will abide by the principles of fair and reciprocal trade," he said.
"What we will no longer do is enter into large agreements that tie our hand, surrender our sovereignty and make meaningful enforcement practically impossible," he said.
"Instead, we will deal on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit."
Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said multilateralism and regional cooperation has been, and still is, the global trend.
He said it is up to each country to work on capacity building and competitiveness to ensure it benefits from the agreements.
"It's not that we're inside a womb and never acknowledge any good or bad situations. It has always been a changing world," he said.
Compromise and exchanges of mutual benefit are crucial as countries recognise the importance of cooperation, he added.
"Everybody can see that connectivity is important. It might be only the problems of some countries that see they are losing benefits. But these can only be short term," he told the Bangkok Post.
The declaration from the Apec Ministerial Meeting (AMM) was delayed from Wednesday as the 21 member economies, which include the US, China and Russia, failed to reach agreement.
Commerce Minister Apiradee Tantraporn, who also attended the AMM, said Thailand benefits from multilateral agreements at many levels and cannot depend on one particular pact.
She added the kingdom also engages in bilateral talks and agreements with a number of trading partners.
Nonetheless, Mr Trump's remarks were welcomed by many Thai businessmen.
Kalin Sarasin, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) and the Board of Trade of Thailand, said it would be an advantage for Thailand if the US shifted to seek bilateral trade and investment cooperation with the country.
"As we can see, the Thai premier got a very warm welcome from the US president during his US visit early last month," he said.
"So it should be easy for Thailand and the US to have a bilateral FTA [free-trade area], if they want to have one."
Moreover a trade pact could be negotiated faster if there were only two parties involved, he said.
On the flip side, Thailand could be disadvantaged when squaring off against the world's largest superpower, he added.
"If the two sides negotiate fairly, I think Thailand could benefit [overall]," Mr Kalin said.
Thailand Development and Research Institute (TDRI) research director for economic governance Deunden Nikomborirak echoed similar comments.
She said there is a global trend of switching from multilateral to bilateral agreements as these tend to be more flexible, and Thailand should not miss this opportunity.
"Thailand should not miss this trend as all countries are seeking trade ties with the US in hope of penetrating the US market, particularly as the US economy is recovering," she said.
She said the US gobbles up around 8-9% of Thailand's exports.
"That is why we have to care about this and try to establish [stronger] trade ties with the US regardless of whether the pact is bilateral or multilateral," she added.
Yet she acknowledged the nation could struggle in bilateral negotiations especially when it comes to sensitive areas like intellectual property violations. Thailand has been for many years on a US watchlist for this.
Mr Trump's visit to Vietnam is part of his first official visit to East Asia from Nov 3-14, with stops in Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines, where he is due to attend the US-Asean Summit.
His speech Friday at the Apec CEO Summit contrasted with those of other leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who both supported the further liberalisation of trade and investment.
The US, under Mr Trump, withdrew from the 12-member Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in January.
He also announced he would tackle Washington's trade deficit with other countries, notably China.