EU/THAILAND Chemical industry eyeing free trade deal with Bangkok

摘要

The European chemical industry is expected to be one of the key beneficiaries of the free trade agreement (FTA) that the EU starts negotiating with Bangkok in May. "The potential is high. Thailand is a net importer of chemicals and lies in the heart of the strong ASEAN and Asian market," Rene van Sloten, executive director at the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC), told Europolitics environment. In 2012, the EU exported €1.3 billion worth of chemical products to the country and it hopes to increase this figure to €20 billion once the FTA enters into force. Bilateral FTA talks were officially launched Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the Commission, and Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand's prime minister, on 6 March in Brussels. The negotiations are expected to last at least two years.