European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland – have concluded a free trade agreement (FTA) with Thailand, marking a major milestone for Thai trade. This is the first free trade agreement signed between Thailand and a European country.
The initiative was launched at a conference in Borgarnes, Iceland, in June 2022 and will require ten rounds of intensive negotiations in Bangkok, Geneva and Oslo. The FTA covers a wide range of areas, including trade in goods and services, investment, intellectual property, competition and public procurement.
Thai Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan emphasized that the agreement lays the foundation for future trade negotiations with other strategic partners, including the European Union.
Once approved by the government, the agreement is expected to be signed in January 2025 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, before being submitted to the Thai parliament for approval.
From January to October 2024, the trade volume between Thailand and the European Free Trade Association reached US$10.29 billion, accounting for 2.03% of Thailand’s global trade, an increase of 23.22% over the previous year. Thailand’s exports to the EFTA were worth $3.79 billion, while imports were worth $6.51 billion.
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Thailand – Economy: Historic free trade agreement with EFTA appeared first on Gavroche Thailand.