Thailand, EU hope to sign FTA in mid-2025

Before the Songkran holiday, senior officials from Thailand and the European Union (EU) met in Bangkok to discuss ways to promote their relationship, including the framework of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), green transformation, and Schengen visa waiver, Thai media has reported.

According to the Bangkok Post, if everything goes as planned, Thailand and the EU could sign a free trade agreement by mid-2025, another example of the EU's increasing engagement in the Indo-Pacific region.

Thailand is considered Europe's strategic hub. The EU wants to use Thailand, the Southeast Asian region's second-largest economy, as a gateway to promote trade and investment in the broader region.

Now after almost a decade, the two sides agreed to jump-start the negotiation process. Six months after the March 2019 election, the EU normalised ties with Thailand. But it was in March 2023 that Thailand and the EU agreed to relaunch negotiations for "an ambitious, modern and balanced FTA, with sustainability at its core.

The first round of renewed talks was held in September in Brussels, followed by another round in Bangkok in early January. For the rest of this year, two additional rounds are planned, in Brussels in June and in Bangkok in September.

It is hoped that by the year-end, the two sides will be able to iron out the nitty gritty in all the legal documents so a deal can be signed by 2025.

In 2023, the EU was Thailand's fourth largest trading partner after China, Japan, and the US, with total two-way trade amounting to 41.6 billion USD.

Last year, Thailand's exports to the EU hit 21.8 billion USD, while its imports from the EU were valued at 19.8 billion USD.|

Among ASEAN members, Thailand is one of the most important destinations for European investments. In 2022, investment reached 42 billion USD. The EU is the second largest investor in Thailand after Japan