Thailand, US to resume free trade talks
Thailand plans to resume free trade talks with the United States, which were put on hold after a military coup in 2006, a Thai government spokesperson said Tuesday.
A senior official from the Thai commerce ministry "recently had a meeting with a US trade representative in Washington DC on resuming the Thai-US free trade agreement talks," spokesman Wichianchote Sukchotrat said.
He gave no timeframe for when the negotiations might resume, saying only that Thailand and the US -- the kingdom's biggest trading partner -- were setting up an unofficial mechanism to hammer out any sticking points.
"The discussions will lead to FTA talks... and will lead to increase in investment and trade," said Wichianchote.
Trade talks with the United States began in 2003, but have been dogged by controversy, particularly over patent protection for US pharmaceutical products.
Comments