UAE CEPA negotiations to conclude this year
Negotiations between Thailand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, are progressing well, with both sides reportedly satisfied with the third round of talks which were held in Dubai.
According to Auramon Supthaweethum, director-general of the Department of Trade Negotiations, both sides are making good progress. The negotiations are being led on the Thai side by the director-general of the Department of Trade Negotiations and on the UAE side by Juma Mohammed Al Kait, assistant undersecretary for Foreign Trade Affairs at the UAE’s Ministry of Economy.
Nine sub-committees have been formed to oversee the negotiations covering various aspects of trade relations, including:
1.Trade in goods
2. Rules of origin
3. Customs procedures and trade facilitation
4. Trade remedies
5. Trade in services and digital trade
6. Intellectual property
7. Technical barriers to trade
8. Sanitary and phytosanitary measures
9. Legal issues
Thailand is preparing to host the fourth round of CEPA negotiations at the end of September in Bangkok and the deal is on track for completion by the end of this year.
It is expected that the Thai-UAE CEPA will help expand trade and investment between the two sides by opening up markets, facilitating trade, and reducing trade barriers. This is projected to benefit Thailand's exports, particularly in areas such as food, textiles and garments, leather products, wood, rubber, plastics, chemicals, electrical and electronic appliances, automobiles, and services like transport, finance, and business services.
The UAE is Thailand's 6th largest trading partner globally and the main one in the Middle East. In the first seven months of this year, total trade value between Thailand and the UAE reached US$20.47 billion. This includes Thai exports to the UAE valued at U$1.82 billion and UAE imports to Thailand valued at U$9.30 billion.
Key Thai exports to the UAE include cars, air-conditioning equipment and parts, jewellery, wood and wood products, rubber products, canned and processed seafood, among others. Key imports from the UAE include crude oil, refined oil, natural gas, other metallic ores and minerals, metal scrap and products, diamonds, jewellery, silver and gold, and chemicals.
