BANGKOK, Thailand – Director-General of the Department of Trade Negotiations Chotima Iemsawasdikul announced that Thailand is accelerating ongoing trade negotiations to strengthen regional cooperation and address growing global challenges.
The Director-General emphasized ongoing negotiations on the Free Trade Area (FTA) with various partners, particularly the European Union (EU), South Korea, and Canada, aiming to achieve ratification by 2026. Previously, Thailand successfully ratified three agreements with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and Bhutan. The country is currently integrating the contexts of such agreements into its internal legislation to put them into effect on January 1, 2026. The FTA with Sri Lanka is also in progress. She also noted that the trade negotiations between ASEAN-India and Thailand-Peru are expected to yield a tangible outcome by 2026.
In addition, the Director-General underscored Thailand’s steadfast commitment to working with ASEAN to close the deal on the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA). Meanwhile, the ASEAN’s final meeting on DEFA was scheduled to take place in early April to complete all processes so that DEFA can be ratified by all partners. If successful, the director-general said that the agreement will be marked as “the first” regional digital agreement in the world that will transform ASEAN’s traditional mode of production into digital, providing the partners with new trade opportunities and boosting investors’ confidence in the market.
According to the director-general, the Ministry of Commerce will establish a group of experts to focus on ways to address the trade effects rooted in the U.S. tariff. Regarding Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, Thailand will file the documents for deployment with the U.S. government’s inspection by April 15, 2026.
In the face of growing global challenges, Thailand will seek further cooperation from multiple partners through creative platforms, namely the Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA) and the ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Retreat (AEM Retreat), to enhance economic infrastructure and tackle rising difficulties. (NNT)
