Thailand urges Asean to lower or lift tax on agricultural goods
Thailand is accelerating the upgrading of the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (Atiga) to address pending and new trade issues, including a proposal that agricultural export taxes from Thailand, such as on chilled chicken meat, rice, and fruits, be decreased or eliminated.
The 5th meeting of the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement Trade Negotiating Committee was held from July 31 to August 3 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The purpose of the meeting was to negotiate and update the agreement , ensuring it remains relevant amidst trade changes. The meeting made significant progress, with a goal to conclude negotiations by 2024.
During this meeting, Thailand pushed for Asean countries that still impose customs duties on products imported from within Asean to reduce, or eliminate those duties, according to Duangarthit Nidhi-u-tai, deputy director-general of the Commerce Ministry’s Department of Trade.
Since the implementation of Atiga in 2010, which has resulted in the elimination of customs duties on 98.64% of traded goods. Thailand's exports to Asean have significantly increased, growing by over 63% in the 12 years from 2010 to 2022.
Asean is Thailand's top trading partner, and in 2022, the trade between Thailand and the bloc amounted to US$124.89 billion, accounting for 21.2% of Thailand's total global trade. Thailand's exports to Asean were valued at $71.89 billion, while imports from ASEAN were valued at $53 billion. In the first half of 2023, trade between Thailand and Asean amounted to $59.14 billion.
Thailand's exports to Asean during this period were valued at $33.6 billion, while imports totalled $25.54 billion. Thai exports to Asean include products like automobiles, components, refined oil, sugar, gemstones, jewellery and chemicals, while imports include crude oil, natural gas, electrical circuits, chemicals, and electrical machinery and components.
