Economy and commerce
Trade
Many Thai products to lose GSP privileges in the US
Thailand’s Department of Foreign Trade will announce on Monday the details of its suspension of duty-free treatment for some Thai products under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP). This follows US suspension on Friday of such preferred treatment for Thai products worth around US$1.3 billion, citing ...
The Nation Reporter
Trade union bill changes passed
The Council of Ministers approved draft amendments to 10 articles of the Law on Trade Unions without modification on Friday, leaving some unions disappointed and claiming that the majority of their suggestions had not been included. Articles 3, 17, 20, 21, 27, 28, 29, 54, 55 ...
Long Kimmarita
Politics of regional trade liberalisation
As multilateral trade negotiations have become unworkable, regional and bilateral alternatives are on the rise. In Thailand’s neighbourhood, the most consequential of these trade vehicles is the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). As it missed the boat on the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), ...
Thitinan Pongsudhirak
Cambodia’s rice farmers in serious danger
Half a million Cambodian farmers could possibly be looking at empty rice bowls if the European Union (EU) pushes through with the withdrawal of its Everything But Arms (EBA) trade preference. While the garment and footwear sectors stand to lose the most if the EBA trade scheme – ...
Jason Thomas
Kingdom rejects VN request
Cambodia rebuffed Vietnam’s request to provide nationality to its citizens living in Kratie, Mondulkiri, Ratanakiri and Stung Treng provinces, with officials saying law enforcement is the Kingdom’s responsibility. Chheang Vun, the head of the National Assembly’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, Propaganda and Information, told ...
Laos plans regulatory reforms to boost trade at border crossings
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce will continue efforts to improve or remove unnecessary measures and regulations relating to exports and imports to bolster cross-border trade. Officials in charge of trade facilitation met in Vientiane last week for the 2nd Trade Facilitation Committee Secretariat meeting to ...
Bounfaeng Phaymanivong
Upgrading the ASEAN–China Free Trade Agreement
In 2015, ASEAN and China signed an upgraded protocol to improve the original Framework Agreement for the ASEAN–China Free Trade Area (ACFTA). The upgraded protocol entered into force in July 2016 and implementation will start from August 2019. Since ACFTA was launched, China’s share of ASEAN ...
Jayant Menon and Anna Cassandra Melendez
Thailand’s pangolin pipeline
In the early hours of a Sunday morning this past March, officers manning a roadside checkpoint in Thailand’s Prachuap Khiri Khan province were hardly fooled when an approaching pick-up attempted to bypass their blockade by hastily detouring down a side road 300m away. The officers gave ...
Chuleeporn Butrkote
EU-Vietnam trade deal prompts concern in Thailand
On June 30 in Hanoi, Vietnamese and EU officials signed a new free trade deal that could shift the balance of manufacturing in the region. The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement will reduce tariffs and facilitate trade between the two parties. Vietnam will ...
Skylar Lindsay
PM: Ending trade pacts hurts development
Prime Minister Hun Sen called on World Trade Organisation (WTO) member states and development partners “to give close consideration” before removing preferential trade status from Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Speaking at the opening of the WTO’s 2019 Global Review of Aid for Trade in Geneva, Switzerland ...
Hin Pisei