The Thai government delegation ended its visits to Sweden and Belgium with the announcement that the Thai-EU free trade agreement will be concluded in less than two years, as part of Thailand’s commitment towards free trade and competitiveness enhancement. For Denmark this will lead to increased exports to the Land of Smiles, and Danish Minister for Trade, Pia Olsen Dyhr is looking forward to the signing.
“Based on analyses from the EU, it is expected that an agreement of free trade would lead to an increase in Danish exports of DKK 630 million. Some of the export will be directly to Thailand while a portion will come from exports to subcontractors for other countries exports to Thailand. The increase in exports will lead to more jobs in sectors that stand to benefit. These are the pharmaceutical industry, mechanical manufacturers and chemicals. An agreement of free trade is there for important for Denmark and will contribute to growth and new jobs,” the Minister says.
For all countries in EU such an agreement would mean elimination or reduction of customs and trade barriers from Thailand.
”An agreement of free trade with Thailand and other countries in the ASEAN would ease access for European companies. The EU’s export to ASEAN could grow € 33,7 billion if customs were removed completely and trade barriers lessened. At the same time, the consumers of the EU would see increased competition and thereby lower prices on a number of durable goods, especially cars and electronics,” the Minister says.
Aside from Singapore, which is the first ASEAN country to reach an agreement with the European Union, followed by Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines are set to start negotiations soon.
