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Thailand - U.S. Business Council Organized Seminar on Thailand-U.S. FTA: Present Challenges and Practical Solutions

Seated from left: Ms. Nadia Krivetz, First Secretary, Australian Embassy; Mr. Shawn Crispin, Former Bangkok Bureau Chief, Far Eastern Economics Reveiw; Mr. Michael Delaney, Economic Counselor, U.S. Embassy and Ms. Chian Voen Wong, Manager of WCI Consultling.

A seminar on the Thailand-U.S. FTA was co-hosted by the Thailand-US Business Council and White and Case (Thailand) LLP on November 22, 2004 in BKK.  The half-day seminar examined the present challenges, and possible ramifications of pursuing bilateral FTA negotiations between Thailand and the U.S.

Panelists at the seminar urged the Thai private sector to get more involved with the FTA process as well as with the Thai negotiation team in order to better identify its own interests an concerns in very specific terms. As keynote speaker, H.E. NItya Pibulsonggram, Chief Negotiator of the Thailand-US FTA, also announced the postponement of the third-round of negotiations between THailand and the U.S., previously aimed to take place in Decmeber 2004.  It is now expected that the third-round of negotiations will begin after the general election in 2005.

Panel l: "Sharing the Experience":

  1. Overview of U.S. -Singapore FTA Experience, Lessons for Thailand.
  2. Thailand After Australia-Thailand FTA, Impact and Lessons Learned.
  3. US Trade Policy and the Thailand-US FTA.

Note: The objective of this panel is to look at strategies and outcome of other bilateral FTAs and to find implications for Thailand-US FTA process.

Panel II: "Managing the Challenges":

  1. The Implications of Liberalizing Thailand's Services Sector under a Bilateral Framework.
  2. The Implications and Applications of Trade Remedies under a Bilateral Framework - a Comparative Perspective.
  3. Tough Questions - Pragmatic Answers: Business Restructuring in Preparations for the Thailand-US FTA.

Note: The objective of this panel is to identify the steps that need to be taken to better prepare Thailand for the Thailand -US FTA

The seminar ended with a luncheon with keynote speaker H.E.  Nitya Pibulsonggram, Chief Negotiator of Thailand-US FTA on "Process and Progress of Thailand-US FTA Negotiations"

H.E. Nitya Pibulsonggram, Chief Negotiator of the Thailand-U.S. FTA, presenting the keynote speech during lunch.