Coronavirus, US-China tensions spur Thailand to reconsider CPTPP membership

Name: Khaosan Road and other Thai tourist hotspots prepare for business to return after Covid-19 crisis
Uploaded: 2020-05-29T01:00:16.000Z
Duration: 1 min 46 s
Description: Khaosan Road and other Thai tourist hotspots prepare for business to return after Covid-19 crisis

The move comes as NGOs warn the mega deal could threaten food security, and others question Thailand’s ability to reap benefits amid a global slowdown

But supporters say the CPTPP will increase the nation’s competitiveness as supply chains undergo regionalisation and firms relocate away from China

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A Thai farmer harvests rice in a field. File photo: AFP

Jitsiree Thongnoi

Published: 9:00am, 29 May 2020Updated: 10:30am, 29 May 2020

The Thai government has set up a working group to assess if the country should be part of an Asia-Pacific trade agreement, with opposition from the agriculture and healthcare advocate groups to the pact now tempered by concerns over the health of the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing US-China tensions.

Deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said the committee’s conclusion, which would take into account public opinion, would help the cabinet decide on membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

“The government wants them to get it done within 30 days,” she said. A ministerial meeting between member countries, that includes Canada, Japan and Singapore, has been arranged for August.

The pact covers almost 14 per cent of the global economy, and seeks to reduce or eliminate tariffs and liberalise the trade of goods and services, among other things.

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Khaosan Road and other Thai tourist hotspots prepare for business to return after Covid-19 crisis

The Thai economy has taken a battering from the coronavirus, with up to 2 million people likely to lose their jobs this year, and another 8.4 million people at risk of unemployment, officials said on Thursday.