Thailand to start FTA talks with South Korea

Thailand will host the first round of talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea from July 9 -17 in Bangkok, according to the Thai Department of Trade Negotiations (DTN).

Chotima Iemsawasdikul, director-general of the DTN, said both countries have agreed to move forward with the Korea-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement. They acknowledged the FTA's terms of reference (ToR) for further negotiation, with Thailand agreeing to host the first round in Bangkok.

The official said that the KTEPA will build on two previous FTAs involving both Thailand and the RoK and other countries — the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement (AKFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

She emphasised the new bilateral FTA is hoped to help enhance Thailand’s competitiveness when it comes to attracting larger companies and startups from the RoK to come to invest in Thailand.

Among the target groups of Korean businesses Thailand now intends to woo are electric vehicle makers, EV parts makers, and information technology companies.

While a joint main committee will be overseeing the overall progress of the negotiation process, a total of 13 joint sub-committees will discuss in detail the different areas of the FTA, including trade of goods, trade remedies, origin of goods and customs and trade facilitation.

In 2023, the RoK was Thailand's 12th largest trade partner with both nations recording 14.73 billion USD in total trade value between them. Thailand exported goods worth $6.07 billion, while the RoK exported $8.66 billion worth of goods.

In the first five months of this year, the trade value between the two sides was $6.30 billion, a 2.48% drop when compared to the same period last year, Chotima said.