Elements of Investment Liberalization: Thailand’s Perspectives Dr. Vilawan Mangklatanakul 2...
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Transcript of Elements of Investment Liberalization: Thailand’s Perspectives Dr. Vilawan Mangklatanakul 2...
Elements of Investment Liberalization:Thailand’s Perspectives
Dr. Vilawan Mangklatanakul2 October 2007
Thailand’s FTA experiences
• ASEAN as the first FTA – separate investment agreements for
liberalization and protection.
• Bilateral agreements containing investment chapters:– TAFTA, Thai-New Zealand, JTEPA
• Ongoing negotiations:– Thai-India, Thai-EFTA, ASEAN-China,
ASEAN-Korea, ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand, BIMSTEC
Current Positions of Thailand
• Covers 5 non-service sectors: manufacturing, fishery, agriculture, forestry, and mining and quarrying– Other mode 3 services to be covered
in services chapter/agreement.
• Positive list approach to liberalization
Current Positions of Thailand (2)
• The scope of ‘investment’ covers only FDI
• Prohibit only TRIMS-based performance requirements
Current Positions of Thailand (3)
• Provide MFN for post-establishment stage only
• Scope of dispute settlement mechanisms:– No prior consent– Excludes performance requirements,
pre-establishment breaches
Concluding Remarks
• Dilemma: the need to attract FDI vs the need to protect domestic businesses– To strike the right balance is difficult.
• No perfect model that is appropriate for all negotiating partners.
• Should aim for a cautious and flexible approach which takes into account different levels of development