Thailand and South Korea to start economic partnership talks this year

Thailand

South Korea

Regulation & Compliances

Published Mar 28, 2024

Tridge summary

Thailand and South Korea have initiated negotiations for a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to boost Thailand's competitiveness and attract South Korean investments, particularly in electric vehicle manufacturing and information technology. This FTA, also known as an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) by South Korea, aims to enhance cooperation in supply chain management and the digital economy, building on existing multilateral trade agreements. The discussions, which are the first under the Srettha government's policy to expand overseas markets, are expected to start by mid-2024 and conclude by late 2025 or early 2026. This agreement is set to benefit Thai industries such as food, wood products, and chemicals, and facilitate Thai service businesses' entry into the South Korean market. Additionally, South Korea is preparing to start negotiations with an unspecified country to promote a clean economy, with the first round of talks anticipated soon after prior consultations in the first half of this year.

Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by a state-of-the-art LLM model and is intended for informational purposes only. It is recommended that readers refer to the original article for more context.

Original content

He voiced confidence that the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) would help boost Thailand’s competitiveness in the global market while drawing in more investments from South Korea in such areas as electric vehicle manufacturing and information technology. “The Republic of Korea calls this agreement with their trading partners EPA, although it is in fact an FTA,” Phumtham, who is also deputy prime minister, said. He added that the trade pact with South Korea would be built on the kingdom’s existing multilateral trade partnerships with the East Asian country under the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement (AKFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). In addition to increased competitiveness for Thailand and more investment from South Korea, the commerce minister expected the FTA to facilitate more cooperation between the two countries in such areas as supply chain and digital economy. Phumtham was speaking to reporters after a signing ceremony on EPA ...

Source: Nation Thailand