Thailand is expected to ink free trade agreements (FTA) with the European Union, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Sri Lanka in 2024, which is expected to boost its textile, garment, and other industrial exports.
After several rounds of negotiations, the first of the FTAs is expected to be signed with UAE by this year end and will be the first FTA to be signed by Thailand with any country.
The UAE FTA is expected to boost exports to baht 30 billion per year and key export products will include textiles, garments, food, chemicals, etc.
As for the FTA with the European Union, the two sides have conducted several rounds of negotiations, and the negotiation process is expected to be wrapped up by the middle of next year.
Since the 28-country-strong European Union imports garments in huge quantities, the FTA with the EU will provide a boost to the Thai apparel industry as it will be able to export clothing at zero duty rates to the EU.
Similarly, the Thai-Sri Lanka FTA may boost Thai investments in the Sri Lankan textile and apparel industry along with other industries like food processing and jewelry.
Thai textile and garment exports to get a boost from three FTA’s
