The Bank of Thailand does not oppose the government's proposal to join the negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership while a Finance Ministry source said officials there have not yet been consulted on the matter.
Representatives of the private sector have backed the move to join the 11-member trading bloc.
While the Bank of Thailand does not oppose the move to join the TPP negotiations, the country's interests must come first, BOT Assistant Governor Paiboon Kittisrikangwan said yesterday.
"We have to look into the details of whether it would benefit every party and how much it would benefit Thailand," he said. "I cannot now tell whether it would be good or bad for the country unless negotiations start and details are revealed."
Meanwhile, senior officials at the Finance Ministry say they have yet to be consulted on the issue by the Commerce Ministry even though the Cabinet approved the plan to join the TPP negotiations on Monday.
"The Finance Ministry was not informed by the Commerce Ministry before it proposed the negotiations with the TPP to the Cabinet," a source at the Finance Ministry said. "If Thailand wants to be a member of the bloc, the agreement has to be scrutinised by other government agencies and the public at large and it must be approved by Parliament."
The agreement would also have an effect on national security, so that must be taken into account as well, the source said.
Thailand has already signed free-trade agreements with other members of the bloc, except the US and Canada. Original signatories to the group are Brunei, Chile, Singapore and New Zealand while negotiating members include Australia, Vietnam and Malaysia. Other negotiating members are Canada, Mexico, Peru and the US.
The TPP is a key part of US President Barack Obama's economic strategy and the government's move to join the group coincides with next week's visit by Obama.
Pornsilp Patcharinnakul, deputy secretary-general of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said the private sector supports joining the TPP talks.
"The country needs to join the trade agreement to improve competitiveness, otherwise the country cannot catch up with the train of trade," Pornsilp said.
However, other parties, such as non-government organisations, may not agree, Pornsilp said.
"They worry the Thai people may have limited access to medicine due to expected higher prices, resulting from the agreement on intellectual property rights protection under the TPP. But nobody can have 100 per cent benefit from any trade agreement," Pornsilp said.
If Thailand enters the trade talks, the country will not need a bilateral free-trade agreement with the US, which is now pushing for multinational agreements.
Vallop Vitanakorn, vice chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, says industries support the move, even if Thailand is coming to the table a little bit late. The negotiation process is expected to take time before Thailand formally joins, he said.
Att Pisanvanich, an economist at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, urged that Thailand should negotiate with the US in order to help exporters overcome regulations that are obstacles to trade.
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Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2012/11/14/bot-not-opposed-to-joining-tpp-finance-ministry-not-informed/
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