November 28, 2007

ASEAN-EU : FTA
Asean-EU FTA talks
The Newly-Enacted Thai Constitution could complicate the Asean-EU FTA talks as Bangkok requires the approval from the parliament.
The process of Asean-EU free trade talks may be complicated by the newly-enacted the Constitution which requires the government to seek the parliamental approval, said Pramon Sutivong, chairman of the Board of Trade of Thailand.Pramon spoke at the seminar on the subject on Tuesday that the Article 190 of the Constitution which says that the government shall not act alone in executing the international trade agreements. It needs the parlimantary approval. He noted that it is still needed to understand what does it means.

The recently-enacted Constitution has required the government to seek the parliamentary approval before enterring into any international trade agreements. Such requirement has last week prevented Bangkok from signing the Asean-Korea service liberalisation agreement as the government is required to conduct the public hearing and seek the blessing from the National Legislative Assembly and the Parliament.
European and Asean leaders agreed last week at the Asean summit to speed up the process of the talks with the deadline set in 2009. He suggested the officials to take a cautious step in the negotiation by taking an indept study of tax regime in the EU as well as the technical problems. For instance, the EU has set up a numerous measures that could become a non trade barrier such as the authorisation of chemicals under EU waste electrical and electronic requirements.

Courtesy The Nation

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