WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  RESTRICTED 
WT/TPR/G/255 
24 October 2011  
 
(11-5254) 
Trade Policy Review Body Original:  English 
   
 
  
 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW 
 
Report by 
 
THAILAND 
 
  
 
Pursuant to the Agreement Establishi ng the Trade Policy Review Mechanism 
(Annex 3 of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade 
Organization), the policy statement by Thailand is attached. 
 
 
Note: This report is subject to restricted circ ulation and press embargo until the end of the first 
session of the meeting of the Trade Policy Review Body on Thailand. Thailand WT/TPR/G/255 
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  CONTENTS 
 
  Page 
I.  OVERVIEW  5 
II.  ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 5  
 (1)   ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS , 2007-2010 5 
 (2)   ECONOMIC SITUATION IN 2011  Q1 7 
 (3)   TRADE ENVIRONMENT  7 
 (4)   MEDIUM -TERM OUTLOOK  8 
III.  MACROECONOMIC AND STRU CTURAL POLICIES 9  
 (1)   MONETARY POLICY  9  
 (2)   FISCAL POLICY  10  
IV.  TRADE AN TRADE-RELATED POLICY DEVELOPMENTS 14 
 (1)   TARIFFS   14 
 (2)   IMPORT SYSTEM  14 
 (3)   EXPORT SYSTEM  15 
 (4)   CUSTOMS PROCEDUERS AND CUSTOMS VALUATION  15 
 (5)   CONTINGENCY MEASURES  16 
 (6)   AGRICULTURE  16 
 (7)   INDUSTRY  17 
 (8)   FINANCIAL SERVICES  18 
 (9)   TRANSPORTATION  23 
 (10)  TELECOMMUNICATION  24 
 (11)  TOURISM  25 
 (12)  INVESTMENT  27 
 (13)  INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS  27 
 (14)  COMPETITION POLICY  31 
 (15)  INITIATIVE IN THE WTO 31 
V.  REGIONAL TRADE ARRANGEMENTS AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION 32  
 (1)   ASEAN  32 
 (2)   APEC  34 
 (3)   ASIA-EUROPE MEETING (ASEM) 34 
(i)  Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and 
 Economic Cooperation (BIMST-EC) 35  
(ii)  Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) 35 
(iii) Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation 
 Strategy (ACMECS) 36  WT/TPR/G/255 Trade Policy Review 
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    Page 
 
(iv) Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) 36 
(v)  Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) 37  
(vi) Free trade agreements 38 
(vii) Bilateral arrangements 38  
(viii) Regional arrangements 39 
(ix) Financial and technical cooperation 40  
VI.  FUTURE ECONOMIC AND TRAD E POLICY DIRECTIONS 41 
 
TABLES 
Table 1 Economic projection for 2011-12 9 
Table 2 Budget framework for fiscal year 2010-2011 11 
 
 Thailand WT/TPR/G/255 
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  I. OVERVIEW 
1. Since its previous trade policy review in 2007, the Thai economy has thriven through 
challenged and crisis and expanded m oderately at the annualized rate at 4.5%.  Overall, Thailand's 
macroeconomic fundamentals have been strong.  Despite some risks of political instability and 
external uncertainties, the economy has performed we ll as a result of significant growth in investment 
as well as strong domestic and external demands, in particular from private consumption which 
continues to grow following higher income and low unemployment rate.  
2. Thailand continues to recognize the importance of trade policy in its development.  The trade 
policy direction remains open to foreign trade and investment.  Efforts continue to support free and 
fair trade, together with gradual changes and progr essive liberalization.  At the same time, several 
trade and trade-related measures that are desi gned to strengthen the competitiveness of domestic 
industries have been introduced to enhance the pr ivate sector's ability to compete in the rapidly 
changing trading environment a nd increasing global competition. 
3. Since 1 January 2007, Thailand has adopted th e 8-digit commodity classification code of 
ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN), and is  applying the code to all imports.  Most of 
Thailand's applied tariff rates are under a new tariff  structure, which is not higher than 10%.  In 
accordance with the Government's policy to libera lize trade, both import and export controls have 
been limited to a minimum.  In addition, th e Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system and 
"e-Customs" have been implemented to fu rther facilitate the trading environment. 
4. Overall sectoral policies focus on promoti ng Thailand's economic development.  The 
Government has emphasized enhanc ing productivity and competitiveness in both the agricultural and 
manufacturing sectors.  As for services, policy has been geared towards not only comprehensive reforms, but also progressive liberalization.  For inst ance, a liberalization plan for the insurance sector 
is underway.  The telecommunication sector h as been liberalized; foreign ownership in 
telecommunication operators has been in creased from 25% to 49% up to 100%.  
5. On the whole, Thailand will maintain its s upport and commitments to international trade 
liberalization.  Government policy will remain open to foreign investors and FDI from all countries is 
welcome.  Thailand's economic fundamentals are st rong and the outlook is satisfactory.  The economy 
is expected to grow by more than 3.5-4.0% in 2011. 
II. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 
(1) E
CONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS , 2007-2010 
6. In 2007, the Thai economy expanded by 5.0% w ith export sector as the major driving force, 
while consumption and investment be came more important engine of growth during the latter half of 
the year.  During the first 9-month of 2008, both external and domestic demand still played a major 
role for growth.  Since the fourth quarter of 2008,  the global economic crisis coupled with internal 
political events in Thailand have combined to cause contractions in export and manufacturing 
production as well as a deceleration in domestic demand.   As a result, the economic growth in 2008 
grew at a slower pace by 2.5%.  The global crisis continuously affected the Thai economy severely in 
2009, reflecting by a contraction of 2.3%.  Ho wever, from the second half of 2009, the economy 
showed signs of recovery following the world ec onomic recovery as well as accommodative monetary 
and fiscal policies.  In 2010, the economy grew markedly by 7.8%, despite facing global economic 
uncertainties, internal political events, and natural disasters. This recovery was supported by strong 
exports of goods and services, and a gr adual expansion of domestic demand. WT/TPR/G/255 Trade Policy Review 
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 7. Regarding the fiscal policy, the government impl emented a deficit budget policy to stimulate 
the Thai economy throughout fiscal year (FY) 2007- 2010.  Following the global economic crisis and 
internal political events in FY2009, a deficit budge t policy was implemented in a larger size and a 
supplementary budget was included to shore up a nd stimulate the economy.  As a result, a budget 
deficit increased from 1.7%-1.8% of GDP in FY2007-2008 to 3.9% of GDP in FY2009.  In FY2010, 
fiscal policy continued to be stimulative, as refl ected by a budget deficit of 3.5% of GDP, and 
additional finance of 2.2% of GDP under the Str ong Thailand Project. In addition, cost of living 
reduction measures such as subsidies on energy prices and utility costs were also employed to support 
consumers' purchasing power.   
8. The net flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) decreased from US$11.3 billion in 2007 to 
US$5.8 billion in 2010, owing in part to the global fina ncial crisis and internal political uncertainties.  
During 2007-2010, the main recipient sector fo r FDI into Thailand was manufacturing sector, 
particularly targeted to high-tech export-ori ented industries such as machinery and transport 
equipment and electrical appliances.  Other important recipients of FDI were real estate and mining and quarrying.  The major sources of FDI flows to  Thailand were Japan (24%), the Netherlands 
(16%), Hong Kong (10%) and the US (10%). 
9. For internal stability, the headline and core inflation in 2008 stood at 5.5% and 2.4%, 
respectively, accelerating from the previous year ma inly from the surge in wo rld commodity prices.  
However, inflation slowed down in 2009 as the co mmodity prices dropped due to the global economic 
crisis as well as the government's measure to alleviat e the people's cost of living since August 2008.  
Nevertheless, the headline and core inflation in 2010 increased from the previous year by 3.3% and 
1.0%, respectively.  This was attributable to th e continuous economic expansion and rising costs in 
both raw materials and wages, resulting in producers gradually increased their prices.  Meanwhile, the 
unemployment remained low at 1.4-1.5% in 200 7-2009, despite the global economic crisis during 
2008-2009.  However, after the economic recovery, th e unemployment rate dropped to 1.0% in 2010.   
10. External stability remained sound.  The current  account and balance of payment registered 
surpluses during 2007-2010.  Reserves to short-te rm debt at year-end continued to increase from 
2.6 times
 in 2007 to 4.2 times in 2009, but decreased to 3.7 times  in 2010 due to rising of short-term 
debts.  However, such increase in short-term debt s was low-risk in nature, since they were mostly 
banks' borrowings to cover higher corporate hedging activities and trade credits.  Meanwhile, the baht 
appreciated from an average of 34.54 baht per U.S. dollar in 2007 to 31.69 baht per U.S. dollar in 
2010.  This was due to the strong economic pros pect, with the surpluses in the current account 
throughout the years, coupled with the growth differential between G3 countries and Asia, which 
prompted a surge in capital flows to Asian countries, including Thailand. 
11. Short-term money market rates moved in line w ith the policy rate (1-day repurchase rate).  
During 2007 to the first half of 2010, the policy ra te was adjusted downward due to the increasing 
risks to growth from the global financial crisis.  Meanwhile, the risk to inflation dropped from 
decreasing world oil price.  The policy rate had been  declining gradually to 1.25% per annum in April 
2009, as compared with 4.75% per annum at the beginning of 2007.  The policy rate was then maintained at 1.25% per annum until July 2010 in or der to support economic recovery.  In the second 
half of 2010, the policy rate was raised gradually from 1.25% to 2.00% per annum.  This was due to 
the declining risks to growth and rising inflati on expectation following the surge in commodity prices 
and pent-up pressure from delayed price adjustments of businesses. 
12. After the global financial crisis, deposit and le nding rates decreased in response to the policy 
rate reduction.  Deposits at othe r depository corporations (ODC) resumed to robustly expand by 8.6% Thailand WT/TPR/G/255 
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  at the end of 2008 due to risk aversion and then slowed down somewhat in the second half of 2009 
following the Thai economy recovery   .In 2010, the deposit of ODC expanded by 8.7% as the interest 
rate rose and commercial banks accelerated deposit accumulation.  Meanwhile, credits to business 
sector decelerated in line with economic conditio ns during the global economic crisis in 2009.  
However, after the economy rebounded, credits to business sector turned positive and continued to 
expand since the second quarter of 2010.  Conversely,  credits to household sector continued to expand 
following accommodative monetary and fiscal policy. 
(2) ECONOMIC SITUATION IN 2011  Q1 
13. In the first quarter of 2011, the economy expanded by  3.0 %, driven by strong exports, 
following the global recovery and an increasing role of private sector spending, especially  
the continued expansion in investment.  Japan's natural disaster in mid-March began to impact manufacturing production, notably through supply ch ain disruptions in certain industries especially 
the automobile industry, with the worst impact exp ected in the second quarter.  However, the impact 
on the broader economy was limited with no major implication on Thailand's long-term growth 
prospects. 
14. Inflationary pressures continued to build up in the first half of 2011.  As core inflation surged 
in tandem with prices of prepared food and construc tion materials, headline inflation edged up in line 
with soaring fresh food prices owing to natural di sasters and high energy prices due to both global 
demand growth and political unrests in the Middle East and North Africa. 
15. Taking into account the risk of financial im balances in the economy resulted from the long-
period accommodative policy rate and rising infla tionary pressure, the Monetary Policy Committee 
(MPC) increased the policy rate four times in the fi rst half of 2011, totalling 1.0 percentage point from 
2.0 to 3.0 as of 1 June 2011.   
(3) T
RADE ENVIRONMENT  
16. In 2010, exports in goods expande d significantly in line with ec onomic recovery of Thailand's 
major trading partner countries. Thai exports re gistered US$193.66 billion, increasing by 28.5% from 
the previous year. Solid growth rates were  well observed across major product categories  namely 
agricultural products (36.2%), manufactu ring (27.8%), and others (30.9%).  
17. Broad-based growth was evidenced in terms of products and markets. Strong demand from 
Asia and emerging countries remark ably boosted up exports of both  agricultural and non-agricultural 
products. Agricultural products, such as rubber a nd rubber products, and pr epared food, benefited 
from high prices as a consequence of supply shorta ge in major competitor countries coupled with 
strong Asia's demand growth. Non-agricultural prod ucts, especially vehicles, parts and accessories, 
electrical appliances, electronic products including co mputers and parts, integrated circuits and parts, 
plastics, petroleum product, chemical products, precious stones and jewellery rose significantly. 
Lastly, exports of garment, textile, and leather pr oducts improved gradually after G2 countries –major 
import markets of such products were in a recovery path.  
18. While Japan, U.S., EU, and ASEAN remained major export markets for Thailand, China 
became the largest trading partner in 2010.  Expor ts to the traditional mark ets such as G3 remained 
the same as before the crisis level. However, a strong economic development of emerging countries, 
along with intra-regional trade development in Asia  enhanced exports to the new markets, led by 
China and ASEAN, which grew as high as 30.4% from the previous year WT/TPR/G/255 Trade Policy Review 
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 19. In 2010, rapid acceleration of imports w as observed, reflecting rebound of economic 
activities. Thailand imports totalled US$179.57 b illion, or a 36.7% increase from 2009. Increasing 
imports in raw materials and intermediate products  by 41.8% and capital goods by 26.6% enhanced a 
positive prospect for country's investment and produc tion growth. An increase in imports of fuel and 
lubricants by 26.6% as well as a rise in import of  consumer goods by 26.2% indicated higher imports 
for domestic consumption or a st ronger country's confidence.  
20. In 2010, a surplus in trade balance slight ly declined from US$19.39 billion in 2009 to 
US$14.08 billion in 2010 as imports growth outpaced that of exports. Specifically, even though Thai 
exports recovered rapidly after the world financia l crisis, there also was a high imports demand for 
both domestic consumption and investment.  
21. The balance of trade in services in 2010 regist ered a surplus of 6.5 US$ billion, increasing 
from a surplus of 5.5 US$ billion during the previous  year. This was due mainly to tourism revenue 
growth. 
22. The prolonged political uncertainty coupled w ith global economic crisis from 2008 to 2010 
adversely affected Thai tourism sector. Travel revenue growth slowed down from 24.4% increase in 
2007 to 9.0% in 2008 before collapsing 13.8% in 2009. The recovery was well evidenced in 2010 
when travel receipts grew by 25.8%. Such growth  was partly due to improving global economic 
condition led by emerging market economies. 
23. Travel and transportation which accounted for 75.3 of total service receipts remained major 
driving forces for service exports. The rise in expor ts of those categories boosted up exports revenue 
from US$30 billion to US$34 billion in 2009 and 2010 respectively. 
24. As for imports of services, imports value grew from US$24.4 billion in 2009 to 
US$27.5 billion in 2010, corresponding to an annual  growth rate of 12.6%.  The major sources of 
imported services in 2010 were transportation, travel and, charges for the use of intellectual property 
which accounted for 51.7% of total imports.  
(4) MEDIUM TERM OUTLOOK  
25. According to the Bank of Thailand's projection as of April 2011, the Thai economy is 
expected to grow by 4.1% in 2011 and 4.2% in 2012 (Table 1).   
26. The Thai economy expanded satisfactorily at 3.0% in the first quarter. This growth 
momentum is expected to continue in the second quart er despite some anticipated drag due to Japan's 
natural disaster.  The private-sector demand is likely to carry its momentum and contribute more to 
growth.  The Thai economy will likely approach it s full potential in the second half of 2011, with 
strong contribution from domestic demand and extern al demand in accordance with a recovery in 
developed economy and growing em erging markets. Meanwhile, the government continues to support 
domestic activities through its spending.  With imports  growing faster relative to exports, the current 
account surplus is expected to decline gradually.   
27. The Thai economy is projected to become more balanced in 2012, owing in part to strong 
private demand supported by elevated farm income, favourable employment condition and 
sentiments.  Exports will also continue to ride on strong momentum thanks to robust recovery in both 
emerging market and developed economies, resulti ng in sustained consumption growth and thus 
higher private investment overall.  Government spe nding will continue to assist economic growth.  As Thailand WT/TPR/G/255 
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  imports will pick up in line with private demand and exports, the current account surplus will edge 
lower from the previous year.    
28. Both pressures to core and headline inflation con tinued to build up in the first half of 2011.  
During the second half of the year, core inflation is  still expected to rise owing importantly to the 
greater pass-through from high production costs to c onsumer prices, demand expansion, and also the 
forthcoming termination of cost-of-living reduction measures.  As a result, core inflation might 
exceed the target's upper bound of 3.0% during the second half of 2011. Similarly, headline inflation is also projected to rise in line with core infl ation and rising prices of fresh food and energy 
components.  Overall, core and headline inflation are projected to be 2.3% and 3.9% in 2011, 
respectively.   
29. Core and headline inflation readi ngs are expected to moderate in  2012 to be 2.1% and 3.2% in 
2012, respectively, along with the more  normalized pace of economic growth.  
Table 1 
Economic projection for 2011-12  
 Actual data Projection 
  NESDBa BOTb 
 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2011 2012 
GDP (at constant 1998 price) 5.0 2.5 -2.3 7.8 3.5-4.5 4.1 4.2 
Consumption (at constant price, %) 2.9 2.9 0.1 5.0 3.6 3.8 3.8 
     Private 1.8 2.9 -1.1 4.8 3.7 3.7 3.6 
     Public 9.8 3.2 7.5 6.0 3.2 4.1 4.7 
Investment (at constant price, %) 1.5 1.2 -9.2 9.4 7.3 6.7 8.1 
     Private 0.4 3.2 -13.1 13.8 8.5 8.2 10.2 
     Public 4.9 -4.7 2.7 -2.2 3.5 2.1 1.3 
External account        
     Merchandise export value (%) 18.2 15.8 -13.9 28.4 17.0 20.4 12.4 
     Merchandise import value (%) 9.0 26.8 -25.2 36.7 20.5 24.6 15.3 
     Trade Balance (Billion US$)  12.7 -0.3 19.3 14.0 10.4 9.4 4.0 
     Current account balance 
     (Billion US$) 15.6 2.1 21.8 14.7 11.2 10.7 6.3 
     Current Account/GDP (%) 6.6 0.8 8.5 4.6 3.1   
Inflation (%)        
     Headline 2.3 5.5 -0.9 3.3 3.0-3.8 3.9 3.2 
     Core 1.1 2.3 0.3 1.0  2.3 2.1 
Unemployment rate (%) 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.0 0.8   
a Projection as of 23 May 2011. 
b Bank of Thailand's Inflation Report, April 2011. 
Source : Office of National Economic and Social Developm ent Board (NESDB); and Bank of Thailand (BOT). 
III. MACROECONOMIC AND STRUCTURAL POLICIES 
(1) MONETARY POLICY  
Monetary and Exchange Rate Policy 
30. The Bank of Thailand (BOT) announced the adoptio n of inflation targeting (IT) in May 2000, 
with a main objective of maintaining price stability to foster sustainable economic growth. Under the 
IT, the BOT has put in place a framework that meets international-standard best practice in terms of 
decision-making process, adequacy of instruments a nd data used in conducting monetary policy, as 
well as external communication to ensure accountab ility and transparency.  Since January 2011, the 
MPC has provided regular press releases in order to  better guide market expectation on policy 
direction as well as inflation. WT/TPR/G/255 Trade Policy Review 
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 31. The BOT targets core inflation, excluding volatile raw food and energy prices, to reflect true 
inflationary pressure within a range of 0.5-3. 0% per annum. In cases where the core inflation 
breached the target, the Monetary Policy Committee (M PC) will provide explanation for the variation, 
the policy action to be taken as well as amount of time it would be expected for inflation to return to 
target levels. 
32. The MPC is one of the main committees of th e BOT responsible for setting monetary policy 
direction. The MPC comprises the BOT Governor, two Deputy Governors and four experts from outside the BOT which meets every 6 or 8 weeks. The MPC works closely with staff of the BOT in 
monitoring internal and external economic conditions  to assess the outlook on growth and inflation in 
order to determine appropriate policy responses.  
33. Since latter half of the year 2010, the MPC ass essed that gradual normalization of the policy 
interest rate was needed to support the strong economic recovery as a means to anchor inflation 
expectations and minimize the risks of financial imbalances.  The MPC therefore decided to raise the policy interest rate from 1.25 to 3.00% per annum  at the end of first half of the year 2011. 
Exchange rate policy 
34. Thailand maintains a managed floating exchange  rate regime, determined by the market 
mechanism, and thus moves in line with underlyi ng economic fundamentals. The BOT may intervene 
in the foreign exchange market only in the case where excessive vola tility in the short run. The main 
purpose of such intervention is to avoid disruptive impact on macroeconomic adjustment and to help 
facilitate timely adjustment by businesses and reduce uncertainties with respect to international trade 
and investment.  
35. Apart from preventing excessive volatility, the BO T also ensures that exchange rate's 
movements do not threaten Thailand's price comp etitiveness over the long run. Moreover, the baht 
should not significantly deviate from its fundamental as such misalignment may be a source of economic imbalance and speculative activity.  
36. At the end of 2010, the Thai baht stood at 30. 15 baht per U.S. dollar, appreciating 10.6% 
against the U.S. dollar from the same period in 2009  owing to the current account surplus and inflows 
of  foreign capital into the equity and bond market s. Such inflows were due to the economic growth 
differentials between advanced c ountries and emerging market countries including Thailand. In terms 
of the nominal effective exchange rate, the baht in 2010 strengthened by average of 4.5% from the 
previous year.  
(2) F
ISCAL POLICY  
37. To counter the economic slowdown in 2009, the government has committed to an 
expansionary fiscal policy and Ec onomic Stimulus Packages to enhance domestic demand in fiscal 
year 2009 and 2010. Moreover, the government also applied expansionary fiscal policy in FY 2011 in 
order to foster continuous economic  growth. According to revenue co llection, expected to be above 
the 2011 target, the Supplementary Budget Act was enacted in April 2011 in order to alleviate the 
burden on those affected by natural disaster and to  sustain the economy's fiscal position. Such policies 
are expected to bring economic growth b ack onto a sustainable path (Table 2). 
38. In essence, the government has established eight strategic priorities in the FY 2011 budget as 
follows : (1) confidence building; (2) national security ; (3) development of society and quality of life, 
and increase equality; (4) management of economic gr owth with stability; (5) management of natural Thailand WT/TPR/G/255 
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  resources and environment to suppor t global climate change; (6) mana gement of science, technology, 
research and innovation; (7) management of forei gn policy and international economic affairs; and 
(8) promotion of good governance. 
39. While expansionary fiscal policy is impor tant for supporting economic growth, the 
government still adheres to its framework for maintaining fiscal stability.  The fiscal sustainability 
framework, which is designed to keep the ratio of public debt to GDP at less than 60% and the ratio of 
debt service to the budget at less than 15%, has b een used as a guideline to conduct fiscal policy. On 
30th April 2011, the public debt to GDP ratio wa s only 41.0% and for fiscal year 2011, the debt 
service to budget ratio stood at 10.5%. 
Table 2 
Budget framework for fiscal year 2010-2011 
Budget frameword FY 2010 FY 2011 
  Before supplementary 
budget After supplementary budget 
 Million 
Baht % 
Change Million 
Baht % Change Million Baht % Change 
Expenditures 1,700,000 -12.9 2,070,000 21.8 2,169,968 27.6 
  Percent of GDP 16.8  19.1  20.0  
- Current 1,434,710 1.7 1,661,482 15.8 1,677,307 16.9 
- Treasury Res. Repayment 0 -100.0 30,346 100.0 114,489 100.0 
- Capital 214,369 -50.1 345,617 61.2 345,617 61.2 
- Principal Repayment 50,921 -20.0 32,555 -36.1 32,555 -36.1 
Receipts 1,700,000 -12.9 2, 070,000 21.8 2, 169,968 27.6 
  Revenues 1,350,000 -15.9 1,650,000 22.2 1,770,000 31.1 
- Percent to GDP 13.4  15.2  16.3  
  Domestic borrowing 350,000 0.8 420,000 20.0 399,968 14.3 
- Percent to GDP 3.5  3.9  3.7  
GDP 10,104,820 11.8 10,852,600 7.4 10,852,600 7.4 
 
40. In addition, the Government plans to continue  its expansionary fiscal policy in FY 2012 to 
further boost private consumption and investment. Ho wever, the size of deficit should be less than 
prior years in order to maintain fiscal sustainability in the long run. 
(a) Trade and Investment Policies 41. Thailand recognizes that the global trading system  has become much more liberalized and the 
economies of individual country are becoming increasingly integrated.  To chart the future direction 
for trade policy, Thailand continues to support free and fair trade that gra dually introduces changes 
and to promote progressive liberalization.  One implication of pursuing a liberal policy, from a development perspective, is that there is a need  to strengthen the competitiveness and efficiency of 
domestic industries to be able to compete in the ra pidly-changing trading environment and be able to 
prosper amid increasing competition.  In addition, Thailand also aims to promote transparency and 
good governance by closing loopholes and strengtheni ng the enforcement of the existing laws.   
42. Promoting the export of goods and services, in cluding an expansion of export markets, 
remains one of the key areas for Thailand.  To achieve such goal, the Government insists on continuing the long-standing practice of close collaboration with the private sector in order to maintain the momentum of export growth and to enhance it in the future.  The creation of new 
exporters, in particular sm all and medium size entrepreneurs and the "One-Tambon
1-One-Product" 
(OTOP) producers, is encouraged.  Moreover, in order to reduce the costs of production relating to 
                                                      
1 A Tambon is a traditional municipal unit co mprising an agglomeration of villages. WT/TPR/G/255 Trade Policy Review 
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 international business management, the Governme nt focuses on the improvement of supply chain 
management and domestic logistic providers, especi ally those in the freight forwarding, warehouse, 
and insurance businesses.  Apart from these measures, th ere is an intention to lay the groundwork for 
promoting outward investment in areas in which Th ai entrepreneurs are alre ady competitive, such as 
agriculture and agri-business. 
43. As many Thais attach their livelihood to agricu lture, it is important for the Government to 
ensure that the agriculture sector and those dependant  on it will thrive within a fair and equitable trade 
environment.  The first priority is to set guidelines l eading to agriculture price stability that is fair to 
producers, consumers and the overall economy, w ith a minimum of government intervention and 
reliance, instead, on market mechanisms.  Furthermore, to strengthen the vast number of people 
engaged in the agricultural sector, the Governme nt places great importance on forging producers' 
cooperatives to achieve a three-prong goal of increa sing their bargaining power; acting as focal points 
for dissemination of trade and market information; and laying a basis to link real markets to futures markets trading.  Aside from the aforementioned task s, the Government has also been trying to make 
the distribution of agriculture produce more efficient by improving logistics systems in regional areas.  
44. In terms of consumer welfare protection, the sh ort term goal is to ensure consumer interests 
primarily through close monitoring of commodity and consumer prices.  For the long run, the 
Government plans to revise the Competition Law to make it credible, practicable and more 
enforceable, in order to forge greater competiti on in the economy.  Cons umer group networking and 
engagement is also encouraged, and channels to  provide information on standards and products to 
consumers are to be improved. 
45. By recognizing the benefit of services to the l ong-term development of the Thai economy, the 
Government has taken steps to nurture service sect ors, including those that have export potential and 
to assist them to go abroad on a strong footing.  Do mestically, particular support is to be given to 
services provided by small and medium enterprises at the local level. 
46. To attain a strong, accountable and modern  legal framework, the Government places 
importance on revitalizing and improving the legal e nvironment for doing business in Thailand.  At 
present, several existing laws, i.e., the Competition Law, Foreign Business Act, and three Insurance-
related Acts, are under review. All have been amended or drafted by taking into account the full 
recognition of the role of foreign investment  in the Thai economy, as well as common business 
practices, with an aim of building a 'level playing fiel d' for all players, both local and international, to 
ensure that consumers are the ultimate beneficiaries. 
47. Another area that the Government consider s necessary is enhancing competitiveness and 
building capacity.  Efforts have been made to pr ovide a basic understanding to local and provincial 
communities, schools, education institutions and c onsumers and producers' associations of issues 
relating to trade, investment and the global economy .  In addition, attention has been focused on better 
appreciation and utilization of inte llectual property rights protection a nd how it could help Thailand in 
the future. 
48. On the international trade front, Thailand still adheres strongly to the principles of free and 
fair trade.  The Government will continue to lib eralize policy, with phased , gradual and progressive 
trade liberalization, by focusing on multilateral a nd regional initiatives.  For the WTO Doha Round, 
Thailand is ready to cooperate actively with all Members to help steer the DDA back on track and 
bring the Round to a successful conclusion.  Th e aim on multilateral commitments remains the 
creation of fair and equitable trading rules and the st rengthening of global development.  In terms of Thailand WT/TPR/G/255 
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  regional engagement, Thailand has continuously played a constructive role in supporting ASEAN, in 
particular the ASEAN integration plan to further solidify the region.  Moreover, the Government views it necessary to introduce a me chanism that involves broader public participation in the 
negotiations process and a clear procedural framework  for the approval of future trade arrangements. 
49. With regard to investment, the Government is  committed to improving the overall investment 
environment.  Thailand, through the Board of Inv estment (BOI), promotes investment in industrial 
and services sectors, namely agro-business;  mining, ceramics and basic metals, light industry, metal 
products, machinery and transport equipment;  el ectronic industry and electrical appliances;  
chemicals, paper and plastics;  and services and public utilities.  FDI is recognized as a means to 
generate employment, economic growth, skills a nd technology transfer.  While Asia, Europe and 
North America are the major sources of FDI, investment from all sources is welcomed. 
(b) Privatization and Competition Policy 
50. Privatization is defined as any measure that increases private participation in sectors where 
state presently operates. The definition includes the divestiture of state enterprise, concession 
agreements, joint ventures, management contract s, leasing, outsourcing, contracting services and 
deregulation. In any case, privatization has to go ha nd in hand with other necessary actions such as the 
establishment of regulatory bodies and the promotion of free and fair competition. 
51. Currently, Thailand has priva tized 6 state enterprises
2 through public offering and most of 
them are considered successful in terms of fund raising as well as efficiency improvement. However, 
privatization program that relates to the transfer of state ownership has been stalled since 2006, when 
the Supreme Administrative Court announced a decision that reversed the corporatization plan of the 
Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT).3  
52. The government has consequently postponed all pl ans for public offerings of state enterprise. 
Instead, Thailand is promoting more use of Publ ic Private Partnerships (PPPs) as a means of 
alternative financial resources for investment as well as to increase efficiencies within various sectors. 
It is anticipated that the country will require si gnificant investment in energy and transportation 
sectors, particularly in mass transit in Bangkok as well as other urban areas.  
53. The Administration has proposed a new legislation,  'the Public Private Partnerships Act', to 
replace the Public Participation in State Undert aking Act B.E. 2535 (1992), which was enacted 
primarily to prevent corruption in the granting of rights to the private sector. The new act, which was 
approved in principle by the cabinet of ministers on 3 May 2011, aims to provide a legal framework 
for PPPs with features commonly found in internati onal standards. The new la w will settle the issues 
arisen from the PPSU Act, for example, the ambiguity of the terms stated in the PPSU act, the lack of 
a proper mechanism for contractual amendment a nd extension, and the time-consuming approval 
process. 
                                                      
2 (1) Krung Thai Bank Public Company Limited; (2) Thai Airways International Public Company 
Limited;  (3) Internet Thailand Public Company Limited; (4) PTT Public Company Limited; (5) Airport of 
Thailand Public Company Limited; and (6) MCOT Public Company Limited. 
3 The country's largest power enterprise. WT/TPR/G/255 Trade Policy Review 
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 IV. TRADE AND TRADE-RELATED POLICY DEVELOPMENTS 
(1) TARIFFS  
54. Customs tariffs, imposed under the Customs Tariff Decree B.E. 2530 (1987) are levied on 
both imports and some exports. 
55. Thailand is a member of the Harmonized Sy stem Convention and currently applied the 
HS2007 tariff nomenclature. As an ASEAN memb er country, Thailand has adopted the 8-digit 
commodity classification code of AHTN (ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature) that applies to all imports, i.e. imports from ASEAN member countries and from any other countries. Under the 
8-digit classification, Thailand has 8,300 notio nal tariff lines, corresponding to the AHTN 
classification. 
56. Thailand's customs tariff rates can be categorized as follows: 
 Statutory Rate: The Decree stipulates the tariff rate for each tariff line (8 digits) as an ad 
valorem rate, specific rate, or both. If goods ar e subjected to both ad valorem and specific 
rates (mixed rate), the higher amount of duty shall be paid. 
 General Rate: With the Cabinet's approval, statut ory rates can be adjusted, i.e. rates can be 
reduced or a special duty can be imposed (but no t more than 50% of the statutory rates). The 
general rates can be applied to imports from  all countries (WTO and non-WTO members). If 
the general rate exists, the statutory rate will no longer be applied. Howe ver, the general rates 
cannot be applied to the 23 tariff quota products. 
 WTO Bound Rate: The WTO bound rate is the ta riff rate that is committed under the WTO. 
 WTO Applied Rate: In general, the WTO a pplied rate is simply the WTO bound rate. 
However, there are some tariff rates reduced  below their WTO bound rates, such as some 
tariff quotas of agricultural products. These ta riff rates are called WTO applied rates. 
 Preferential Rate: With the Cabinet's approval, the statutory rate can be reduced, increased or 
kept at the same rate in order to fulfill the obligations under international treaties or 
agreements, e.g. WTO, ATIGA (ASEAN Trad e in Goods Agreement), TAFTA (Thailand-
Australia Free Trade Agreement), TNZCEP (Thailand-New Zealand Closer Economic Partnership), or JTEPA (Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement) etc. 
57. If the WTO bound rate or preferential rate is highe r than the general rate, the general rate can 
be applied. 
58. The customs tariff rates are listed in Part 2 of  the Customs Tariff Decree B.E. 2530 (1987). 
Duties are levied on either a specific or an ad-valor em basis, whichever is the higher. The value of 
imports is based on their CIF prices. Customs tariffs at present range between 0%-80%
 with average 
rate 11.17%. 
(2) IMPORT SYSTEM  
59. In accordance with the government trade po licy to liberalize trade and minimize trade 
distortion, most products can be imported freely into Thailand.  In accordance with its rights and Thailand WT/TPR/G/255 
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  obligations under the WTO Agreements, importation of  specific goods are restricted or require prior 
approval for legitimate reasons, such as, to protect human, animal or plant life or health, to protect 
public morals, etc.  Apart from that, goods coul d be imported after complying with the necessary 
customs procedures and the payment of customs tariffs, where applicable. 
(3) EXPORT SYSTEM  
60. Thailand's trade policies have been geared towards promoting exports by limiting export 
control to a minimum.  As in the case of imports, most products can be exported freely, while a few 
items are subject to the requirements of prior appr oval for legitimate reasons such as public health, 
national security, and protection of public mora ls and natural resources protection, etc.  
61. Thailand does not provide any export subsidies to  its producers.  Moreover, as per Thailand's 
multilateral trade commitments, export incentives in terms of local-content a nd/or export performance 
requirements are no longer in place.  
(4) CUSTOMS PROCEDURES AND CUSTOMS VALUATION  
62. The Customs Department has adopted the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuations and thus 
the relevant rules, under the Agreement are being a pplied. The primary basis for customs valuation is 
the "Transaction Value", which means the price actua lly paid or payable for the goods when sold for 
export to Thailand, adjusted in accordance with the provisions of Articles 9-12 of Ministerial 
Regulations No. 132 B.E. 2543 (2000) 
63. The Customs Department has introduced clear customs appeal procedures which covers a 
variety of customer-related areas, including valuation,  tariff classification, amount of duty payable, 
origins of goods, and quantity of imported goods.  
64. Since July 2008, the Customs Department has introduced the Advance Tariff Ruling System, 
as a tool to assist economic operators to obtain the correct tariff classification for goods they intend to 
import. Businesses who would like to confirm the ta riff classification of a product may apply for an 
advance ruling. Application for an advance ruling which accompanied by all the necessary 
information should be submitted at least 30 days befo re the date of importation of the goods. In case 
of application accompanied only by the details of inquired product wit hout supporting documents 
which indicate the intention to import, the ruling w ill be returned within 60 working days of the 
receipt of the application. The ruling is valid for one year. 
65. To set out transparency and consistency oblig ations as well as increasing capability of trade 
competition to the applicants who are the importers or international trade entrepreneurs, the policy 
relevant to the advance ruling on valuation of Cust oms Department has been issued since 2009. In 
2010, the advance ruling on valuation system complied with the procedure of advance ruling on valuations process has been implemented. Currently , the system is undergoing development into an 
automatic system in the project called the Elect ronic Advance Ruling on Valuation Project.     
66. Computer techniques are increasingly used by Thai Customs to support a wide range of 
Customs operations. The Thai Customs Department  has enabled the e-Customs paperless services 
nationwide since 2008. These services include e-Import , e-Export, e-Payment, e-Manifest services, 
and the National Single Window (NSW) System. Th e NSW key stakeholders comprise importers, 
exporters, custom brokers, freight forwarders, comm ercial banks and government agencies. The Thai 
Customs Department uses WCO Data Model and UNTDED as a reference for developing the WT/TPR/G/255 Trade Policy Review 
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 e-Customs paperless services and NSW environment. The utilization of ebXML standard and PKI 
enable information sharing between government a nd business sectors in the NSW environment.  
67. The e-Customs system significantly cuts cost s, and reduces paperwork requirements for both 
Customs and relevant trading community. It provid es business operators such as exporters, importers, 
Customs brokers and shipping companies with a paperless environment and one stop services. 
68. In terms of transparency enhancement, all cu stoms-related laws and regulations as well as 
important information, are publicly ava ilable on the Customs Department website: 
[http://www.customs.go.th]. 
AEO Program 
69. The Customs Department signed the Letter of Intent in 2006 to accept WCO Framework of 
Standard in its process to ensure security and facilitation of international trade at the same time by 
building partnership with private enterprises a nd to strengthen the global competitiveness of the 
country. On 11 November 2009, the Customs De partment issued the Customs Notification 
No. 84/2552 (2009) to start the AOE Program (Pilot pr oject). At the end of the project, Thai Customs 
validates and certified companies to be Authorized Economic Operators in 2010. The AEO Certifies 
were issued to these companies in September 2010. 
70. Currently, the Customs Department has issued  the Customs Notification No. 40/2554 (2011) 
to implement AEO actual program. In addition, the Customs Department aims to enter into Mutual 
Recognition Arrangement (MRA) with other Customs Ad ministrations to further facilitate trade in the 
future.  
(5) CONTINGENCY MEASURES  
71. Thailand conducts anti-dumping investiga tions and imposes anti-dumping measures in 
accordance with the Anti-Dumping and Countervaili ng Act that was promul gated in 1999.  The 
legislation is consistent with the General Agre ement on Tariffs and Trade and the Agreement on 
Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994 a nd the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing 
Measures.  Since 2007, Thailand has initiated eleven  new anti-dumping cases.  Thailand has never 
imposed any countervailing measures. 
72. Thailand's application of safeguard measures is governed by the Safeguard Measures on 
Increased Imports Act B.E.2550 (2007).  To date, Thailand has imposed one safeguard measure under 
such Act.  
73. In addition, Thailand has consistently s ubmitted semi-annual reports  on its contingency 
measures as required by the relevant WTO agreements. 
(6) AGRICULTURE  
74. During 2008-2010, the agricultural sector accounted  for 8.8%, 9.2%, and approximately 8.5% 
of GDP, respectively.  In the first half of 2010, Thailand faced  the most severe drought in 20 years, 
whereas there were widespread floods throughout th e country in the second half of the year. These 
floods brought devastation in vast farming areas, especially paddy, cassava, sugarcane, and oil palm. 
As a result, agricultural GDP contracted sharply in 2010. Thailand WT/TPR/G/255 
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  75. The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is the principal authority responsible for 
implementing Thailand's agricultural policies. Various  important policies have been implemented in 
2009-2010. For instance, (1) job creation to absorb unemployment caused by economic downturn; (2) market provision for agricultural products from small rural communities; (3) irrigation system 
improvement and water supply management;  a nd (4) national farmers' council establishment. 
76. The agricultural policies also concentrat e on the Economic Rehabilitation Policy on 
Agricultural Sector which consists of 3 major strategies as follows: 
 First, strengthening farmers and farmers' orga nization by establishing crop insurance system, 
supporting business operation, production, marke ting, and training the new generation of 
farmers. 
 Second, production development,  with goals to increase production efficiency and returns, 
and to reduce production cost by extending ec onomic crop production in  appropriate areas, 
supporting research and development (R&D), creat ing value added of agricultural products 
through processing and certifying system, and promote food safety. 
 Finally, infrastructure development, with th e objectives of effective agricultural resources 
management by improving and expanding irrigation system, accelerating legislation process 
to protect and conserve suitable areas for agri culture, expediting the issuance  of land title 
deeds to small farmers and supporting agricultural economic restructure.  
77. To ensure the success of the policies, the Mini stry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has done a 
number of activities, for example, a thorough review of  the operating results of the policies as well as 
the current agricultural economic situation, the focus on the strengthening of farmers and farmer 
organization, the restructuring of agriculture ec onomy, the promotion of quality agricultural products, 
and the improvement of production and marketing efficiency.   
(7) I
NDUSTRY  
78. In 2010, the growth of the industrial sector increased from 13.9% from year 2009, mainly due 
to the expansion of machinery, automotive parts.   
79. The National Industrial Development Master Plan has pursued three principle policies:  
 (1) internationalized industrial structure and clusters to capture global opportunities;  
 (2) upgrade and create sustainable entrepreneur; and  
 (3) enhance competitive industry platform. 
80. To develop local and regional products, such  as OTOP, the Government emphasizing on 
self-reliance for local producers, building sustainabl e economic growth, and pr omoting production in 
response to the market's needs and tastes. 
81. Three levels of promotion are designed for small and medium enterprises.  First, the sector 
level includes production, trade and services.  Seco nd, the firm level comprises start-up businesses, 
growing or expanding enterprises, as well as firm s operating in the transitional/adapting period.  
Third, the promotion is at the individual level.  WT/TPR/G/255 Trade Policy Review 
Page 18 
  
 82. The Ministry of Industry also focuses on the strengthening of an industrial administration in 
the clusters by designating the clusters to sp ecialized groups, promo ting diversified foreign 
investments in order to connect investments to do mestic production sources. In addition, the Ministry 
of Industry also promote Thai industrial clusters to  be recognized in world market by enhancing Thai 
industrial cluster's good image, engaging with indust rial alliances for technology transfer and world 
resource sharing. 
83. In addition, National Industrial Development Master Plan also focuses on developing Thai 
industry to be "creative and sustainable" by enha ncing industrial cluster and networks to foreign 
markets; strengthening Thai producers' potential a nd sustainability; and enhanc ing industrial structure 
to support industrial administration.   
84. The environment issue has always been anothe r area of concern for Thailand.  To solve 
environmental problems, the Government h as adopted the philosophy of "Environmental 
Governance", which requires good information, disclosur e of information, consent for examination or 
verification, and coordination with locals.  An impor tant operating tool for achieving this goal is the 
utilization of an emission charge measure. 
85. Finally, it is necessary to raise the level of  industrial standards in order to create the 
entrepreneur's ability to respond to the needs of tr ading partner, vis-à-vis quality, safety, and sanitary 
and environmental concerns to co rrespond to the global situation. 
(8) FINANCIAL SERVICES  
Banking 
86. The Thai banking system remained strong and st able after continued recovery from the global 
financial crisis. The implementati on on prudential policies was introduced, which aims to ensure the 
stability of individual financial institution (Micro-pr udential) and also serve as a preemptive measure 
against the systemic risk that may lead to financial and economic di stress (Macro-prudential). 
Furthermore, the development on financial landsca pe progressed, including implementation of the 
Financial Sector Master Plan Phase II (FSMP Phase II). 
87. Performance of the banking system was res ilient with strong capital base from continuous 
profit and capital increase. In 2010, the ratio of capita l-to-risk asset (BIS ratio) of the banking system 
recorded at 16.2%, higher than the minimum regulatory requirement of 8.5%. Moreover, non-performing loans (NPL) continuously declined fro m loan repayment, debt restructuring and NPL 
sell-off. As a result, the gross NPL and net NPL re duced to 3.6% and 1.9%, respectively, in 2010.  
88. Following the implementation of FSMP Phase I, ther e has been a significant structural change 
on the Thai financial system, such as the enactment  of Financial Institutions Businesses Act B.E. 2551 
(2008), implementation of Basel II, introduction of consolidated supe rvision of financial 
conglomerate and establishment of Deposit Protection Agency resulting to significant developments 
of existing players when completion of the FSMP Phase I. The FSMP Phase II aims to enhance the 
efficiency of the financial system, and key measur es of this phase consist of reducing system-wide 
operating cost, promoting competition, and strengtheni ng financial infrastructure. Currently, financial 
institutions have been encouraged to voluntary merger, allowed to cond uct the expanded business 
scope, and upgraded to commercial bank for qualifi ed retail banks. Existing foreign bank branches 
were allowed to open two additional branches and al so may apply to become a subsidiary. However, 
entry of new service providers in the Thai banki ng system would be subject to assessment of 
remaining gap in the system. Thailand WT/TPR/G/255 
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  89. The importance of the implementation on prudential policies has been addressed recently 
aimed at enhancing the stability and efficiency of the financial institutions system including, for example: measure on LTV for all residential mortga ge, policy statement on liquidity risk management 
and revision of the regulations on preparation and dissemination of financial statements, as well as 
revision of policy on consolidated supervision according to principles of Basel II and report 
requirement for consolidated groups.  
90. For the implementation of future prudential sta ndard, namely Basel III, the adoption will be in 
line with new international banking supervis ion standards of Basel Committee on Banking 
Supervision. Additionally, the BOT will closely keep up with new international accounting standards 
so that Thai accounting standards can be im proved and conformed to the new standards. 
Securities 
91. Thailand continues to deepen its capital markets to better serve as an alternative for capital 
mobilization and investment.  The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is committed to raise 
the supervisory and regulatory standards to be on par with international level.   
92. In 2010, the total value of market capitalizati on of the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) was 
8,335 billion baht (increased by 3,256 billi on baht from 2006), while total value of market 
capitalization of the Market for Alternative Inv estment (MAI) was 55.13 b illion baht (increased by 
33.32 billion baht from 2006).  The SET index at the end of the year stood at 1,032.76.  The SET's 
dividend yield was 2.92% while the MAI's dividend yield was 3.11%.  Total trading value (both SET 
and MAI) in 2010 was 7,034 billion baht, with a daily  average trading value of 29.07 billion baht.  
The trading value reached its highest level sinc e SET and MAI started trading in 1975 and 2001, 
respectively.  In terms of trading value by investor type, retail investors accounted for 62% of total trading value, while foreign investors, local in stitutional investors and proprietary trading were 
accounted for 18.4%, 7.6% and 12%, respectively. 
93. The SEC has, as its principal function, the s upervision and development of the primary and 
secondary markets of Thailand's capital market system.  Its primary role is to formulate policies, rules 
and regulations regarding supervis ion, promotion, and developmen t of securities and derivatives 
businesses, as well as other activities relating to secu rities businesses, securities exchange, other 
organized securities trading centres, and entiti es related to securities businesses, including the 
issuance and offering of securities for sale to th e public, the acquisition of securities for business 
takeovers, and the prevention of unfair securities trading practices.  
94. To further enhance corporate governance standards of the Thai capital market, many key 
regulations came into force in 2008, upon the ame ndment of the Securities and Exchange Act (SEA 
No. 4).  These new provisions include the more clear ly defined fiduciary duties of company directors 
and executives, the power of shareholders to file charges on behalf of the company to protect their 
own interest, the strengthened power of the SEC in  monitoring related-party transactions, and the 
mandatory inclusion of the independent corporate gov ernance assessment in analysts' research papers 
on listed companies etc.   
95. In addition, the amended Act also revises the structure of the SEC Board with an aim to 
enhance operational efficiency and supervisory fu nctions.  Instead of the Finance Minister, the 
Chairman of the SEC Board now has to be an i ndependent appointee appointed by the Cabinet upon 
recommendation of the Minister of Finance.  Meanwhile, the Capital Market Supervisory Board 
(CMSB), chairs by Secretary-General of the SEC wa s established to focus on the issuance of rules and WT/TPR/G/255 Trade Policy Review 
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 regulations governing operational matters so that the SEC Board can focus on policy matters with 
regard to supervision and deve lopment of the overall market. 
96. Extensive efforts putting in place in the devel opment of corporate governance practices led to 
the improvement in Asia's Corporate Governan ce Comprehensive Assessmen t (CG Watch) conducted 
in 2010 by the Asian Corporate Governance Associ ation and CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets.  The CG 
Watch assessed the quality of corporate governance practices in 11 Asian c ountries.  Thailand was 
ranked fourth and earned recognition as the count ry with the highest score improvement.  
97. In November 2009, the Cabinet approved the Capital Market Development Master Plan 
2010-2014 (the Master Plan) proposed by the Cap ital Market Development Committee comprising the 
Minister of Finance as the chairperson, the SEC and experts from public and private sectors.  The 
Master Plan aims to promote capital market as a main pillar for driving forward the economy, creating jobs and investment choices for the Thai people.   
98. The Master Plan consists of 8 key reform meas ures that are expected to bring about major 
changes in the system, which are (1) abolishi ng the monopoly on the exchange businesses and 
enhancing competitiveness of the Thai excha nge internationally; (2) liberalizing securities 
intermediary business and enhancing its efficiency; (3 ) reforming legal framework to facilitate market 
development and enforcement efficiency; (4) stream lining tax system to facilitate development and 
fairness; (5) promoting financial innovations an d creation of new products and asset classes; 
(6) establishing a National Saving Fund to support info rmal sector workers' savings for retirement; (7) 
fostering investment and savings culture and fi nancial literacy through l ong-term savings schemes; 
and (8) enhancing liquidity and efficiency in the bond market.   
99. Apart from the 8 reform measures, the Master  Plan also recommends further 34 supporting 
measures to foster adjustments in the capital ma rket environment and establishment of market 
infrastructure for long-term development, helping in  the fulfilment of the Master Plan's objectives. 
100. In December 2009, the SEC laid out the Strate gic Plan 2010-2012, in alignment with the 8 
reform measures of the Master Plan with an aim to embrace new opportunities that arise from the 
changing social and economic environments around the globe.  The strategic measures were 
specifically laid out to strengthen competitiveness  of the Thai capital market, enhance investor 
accessibility to investment products and risk divers ification tools, facilitate fund mobilization, and 
increase effectiveness of market s upervision and enforcement.   
101. In order to promote competition, the SEC, in 2009, proposed for further law amendment to 
end the official monopoly status of the SET a nd allowing competition from other trading venues 
either in the form of traditional exchange or a lternative trading system.  The proposed amendments 
would also repeal the legal provisions that prohi bit SET member brokers from trading listed securities 
outside the exchange and withdraw requirements th at trading of listed stocks must be done by 
members only.  This revision will allow local play ers the abilities to link with other markets.   
102. In the past few years, the SEC also revised  rules on securities offering to rely more on 
disclosure-based regulations.  The efforts in stream lining its regulatory framework have also been 
made in several areas resulting in a more effi cient approval procedure such as the auto-approval 
scheme for plain vanilla mutual funds.  Furtherm ore, the SEC encouraged the introduction of new 
products to deepen the depth of the market.  The SEC has introduced rules for establishing 
infrastructure funds, foreign exchange bonds, s ukuks (Islamic bonds) and gold funds. The Cabinet Thailand WT/TPR/G/255 
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  also approved more types of underlying asset for derivative products, and pe rmitted Thailand Futures 
Exchange to issue interest rate futures/bond futures.   
103. The SEC has introduced a revision on regulations  on approval of auditors in its continuing 
efforts to enhance audit quality of financial stat ements of entities under SEC oversight in line with 
international standards and thus increase reliance on financial reporting and i nvestor confidence in the 
Thai capital market.  The SEC will now assess and en sure that audit firms are equipped with audit 
quality assurance. The new scheme will particularly  address audit quality control on both corporate 
and engagement levels to mitigate risks associat ed with financial miss tatements. The amended 
regulation will take full effect as from 1 January 2013,  but audit firms ready to have their audit quality 
assurance systems reviewed and approved earlier may submit the application to the SEC as from 
1 October 2010. The SEC's continuing effort on audit oversight improvements pays off as the SEC 
was given a membership of the International Fo rum of Independent Audit Regulators (IFIAR) in 
September 2010. 
104. The plan to liberalize licensing regime fo r securities business will become effective in 
January 2012.  Therefore, there will be no limit on the number of new licenses, providing that the 
applicants meet the "fit and proper" requirements for each category of licenses being sought for.    
Furthermore, brokerage fees will be changed to fu lly negotiable scheme in January 2012.  These plans 
were announced 5 years in advance (in 2006) prior to  the effective date to allow sufficient time for 
self-preparation to expand business capabilities and di versification of revenue sources other than 
brokerage commission.   
105. To facilitate outbound portfolio investment, th e Bank of Thailand has continued to relax 
exchange control regulations.  This  relaxation is aimed to add more  balance to the country's capital 
flows and provide more investment alternatives to Thai individuals.   
106. In preparation for the creation of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015, the SEC as 
chair of the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF), led the group of securities regulators in ASEAN towards establishing an integrated ASEA N capital market by 2015.  The Implementation 
Plan to Promote the Development of an Integrat ed Capital Market, endorsed at the ASEAN Finance 
Ministers' Meeting in 2009, served as a strategic plan for ACMF to gradually integrated capital 
markets.  The plan laid down several key initiativ es to facilitate fund raising activities of the business 
sectors and promoting cross-border offerings of secu rities to allow investors opportunities to better 
diversify their savings and investment.  The goal of the ACMF is to elevate and present to the 
international investors ASEAN portfolio i nvestments as a distinct asset class.  
107. In addition to chairing the ACMF, the SEC also played leading roles as head of the working 
group on cross-border offerings of mutual funds in ASEAN, and on the ASEAN Disclosure Standards 
for Debt Securities offerings, in which Thailand has already adopted since 2009.   
Insurance 
108. The Thai insurance industry in 2010, expanded by 14.24% with a total insurance premium of 
421,042 million baht.  Out of this number, the life insurance business expanded by 14.53%, recording 
a total life insurance premium of 296,106 million ba ht, meanwhile, the non-lif e insurance business 
expanded by 13.54%, recording a total non-life in surance premium of 124,936 million baht. The 
insurance penetration, as represented by the total insu rance premiums as a percentage of GDP, is at 
4.21%. In 2010, the insurance sector's assets accounted for 4.29 of the overall financial sector's assets. WT/TPR/G/255 Trade Policy Review 
Page 22 
  
 109. The factors that contributed to this continuous growth stemmed from both domestic and 
international factors as follow: 
110. The OIC's progressive measures focus on strengthening the Thai insurance system through 
the "Insurance to the People" project, which is  disseminated throughout many regions around the 
country with the aim of improving in surance knowledge for the people.   
111. Improving the distribution channels and the one-stop service help promotes access to the 
insurance system, which will provide guarant ees in life and property of the people.   
112. Promoting the development of insurance products that are affordable and meet the needs of 
the people by issuing Microinsurance, which offe rs less expensive insurance premiums for people 
with lower incomes, for both life and non-life insurance.   
113. The global economic recovery, which continues to expand.   
114. In 2010, Thailand had a 0.31% share of the world insurance market and ranked 32th in terms 
of total premium volumes.4 
115. The insurance density level or premium per capita was US$199.4 in 2010.5 
116. At present, Thailand has 94 insurance companies, of which 24 are life insurers (23 domestic 
companies and 1 foreign branch), 68 are non-life insurers (63 domestic companies and 5 foreign 
branches), and 2 domestic reinsurers. 
117. The main laws governing the operation of insu rance companies in Thailand are: the Life 
Insurance Act B.E. 2535 (1992), Amended by the Li fe Insurance Act (No.2) B.E. 2551 (2008); and 
the Non – Life Insurance Act B.E. 2535 (1992), Am ended by the Non-Life Insurance Act (No.2)  
B.E. 2551 (2008). 
118. At the moment, the first and second stages of the liberalization plan have been implemented. 
The first stage of the liberalization plan encourag ed Thai insurance compan ies to adapt themselves, 
strengthen their financial status, and expand their businesses. In this stage, 25 new insurers were 
registered, of which 12 were life insurers a nd 13 were non-life insurers. The first stage was 
successfully implemented since 1998. 
119. Currently, Thailand is in the second stage of the plan.  The percentage of foreign shareholder 
was increased to more than 25% but not exceeding 49% under section 10 of the Life Insurance Act 
B.E. 2535 (1992), Amended by the Life Insurance Ac t (no.2) B.E. 2551 (2008);  and section 9 of the 
Non-Life Insurance Act B.E. 2535 (1992), Amended by the Non-Life Insurance Act (No.2) B.E.2551 
(2008).  
120. The Third stage of implementation will be implemented once Thai insurers possess enough 
capacity to compete internationally. 
121. The Office of Insurance Commission (OIC), Th ailand developed the In surance Development 
Plan Vol. 2 (2010-2014), which contains informati on on the insurance business development trends.  
The OIC will operate according to the Insurance Development Master Plan Vol. 2 as follow.  
                                                      
4 Swiss Re. Sigma No. 2/2011. 
5 Swiss Re. Sigma No. 2/2011. Thailand WT/TPR/G/255 
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  122. To build more confidence and awareness of the importance of insurance as well as better 
insurance access for the people by  creating insurance knowledge for the people through cooperation 
with public and private organizations in organi zing insurance seminars, meetings, and trainings.  
123. To strengthen the capability and competitiven ess of the insurance system through the 
enforcement of the use of Risk Based Capita l (RBC) approach for insurance companies and 
promoting the insurance companies' ability to compete by improving supervision of insurance 
companies and setting prudent investment framewo rk as well as increasing preventive and corrective 
measures.   
124. To improve the standard of service and protec tion for policyholders through the development 
of the insurance law, policyholder protection, and the litigation early warning system. 
125. To promote the infrastructure of the insura nce market through strengthening the insurance 
human resource capacity.   
(9) TRANSPORTATION  
Air Transport 
126. Thailand continues to implement a liberalization policy on air transport by allowing Thai 
private-owned airlines to provide air services on the same routes operated by the state-owned air 
national carrier.  As a result, the number of intern ational and domestic scheduled Thai airlines has 
increased from six in 2003 to ten in 2011. 
127. Limitations and restrictions imposed on fore ign airlines, involving the capacity and frequency 
as well as route schedule and traffic rights, are gr adually being removed.  The capacity arrangements 
set in advance are more in line with the traffi c demand and long-term plans.  Moreover, foreign 
airlines are encouraged to operate flight s to every custom airport in Thailand. 
Maritime Transport  
128. Thailand's international seaborne trade has been  increasing rapidly, particularly during the 
past decade.  Nevertheless, only ap proximately 10 to 12% of the total trade volume is carried by Thai 
flag vessels.  Despite a relatively small size, the Thai merchant fleet has increased from 133 vessels, 
with total carrying capacity of 5 85,873 DWT in 1981, to 483 Thai flagged vessels, with total capacity 
of 4.4 million  DWT in 2010. 
129. A package of substantial legislation specifica lly applied to the maritime transport sector 
includes;  The Thai Vessels Act B.E. 2481 (1938), as amended by the Act B.E. 2540 (1997);  The Navigation in Thai Waters Act B.E.2456 (1913) , as amended by the Act B.E.2540 (1997);  The 
Prevention of Collision of Vessels Act B.E.2522 (19 79);  The Carriage of Goods by Sea Act B.E.2534 
(1991);  The Arrest of Ships Act B.E.2534 (1991) ;  The Ship Mortgages and Maritime Lien Act 
B.E.2537 (1994);  The General Average Act B.E.  2547 (2004);  and The Multimodal Transport Act 
B.E. 2548 (2005); The Maritime Promotion Act B.E. 2521 (1978) as amended in 2005; and The Salvage Act B.E. 2548 (2005).  Thailand also has a great  deal of subsidiary legislation regulating ship 
surveying, maritime safety and security, training of seafarers and marine environment protection, all 
of which are based on international standards. 
130. Currently, there are 6 ports under the administration of the Thai Authorities and 
approximately 121 private ports that are capable  of accommodating sea- going ships of 500 DWT and WT/TPR/G/255 Trade Policy Review 
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 up. The port operators are required to obtain perm ission and conform with the Notification of the 
Revolutionary Council No.58 (control of business aff ecting public security and well-being) and also 
required to obtain permission for the constr uction and operation of port from the Marine 
Development. The Port Authority of Thailand (PAT) is a public utility state enterprise under the 
supervision of the Ministry of Transport  and responsible for two main ports namely Bangkok Port and 
Laem Chabang Port and three regional ports na mely Chiang Saen Port, Chiang Khong Port and 
Ranong Port.     The operations of terminals at Laem  Chabang Port, the largest port in terms of cargo 
throughput, have been contracted out to private operators. 
(10) TELECOMMUNICATION  
131. Thailand's telecommunications sector has been under reform since the previous review and 
some significant progress has been made in or der to respond to the increased demand for 
technology-advanced telecommunications services and the need for better administrative efficiency 
and regulation in this area. The 10-year Nationa l ICT Policy Framework (ICT 2020) was approved by 
the cabinet on 22nd March 2011, and is aimed at providi ng direction and strategies for the 
development of ICT in Thailand over the pe riod 2011 to 2020 under the "Smart Thailand 2020" 
vision. The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) is the main body 
responsible for managing the policies under the Fram ework including the formulation of two 5-year 
ICT Master Plans covering 3 driving forces entitled "knowledge and wisdom society", "sustainable 
growth society", and "equality society". 
132. The Thai Government is aware of the importa nce in developing broadband services within the 
scope of the National ICT Policy Framework and has established targets under the National 
Broadband Policy that aims to deve lop the broadband network to cove r at least 80% of the population 
by 2015 and up to 95% by 2020, wh ile ensuring high standard quality of services at reasonable prices.  
In addition, broadband services with at least 100 M bps via fiber optic, will be provided in business 
areas in Thailand by 2020.  
133. The Master Plan for Telecommunications has been drafted, in accordance with the Draft 
Master Plan for Spectrum Management, as a means to  implement the 5-year guideline for developing 
telecommunications business. In addition, the Draf t Master Plan for Telecommunications includes 
guidelines for development and promotion of free and fair competition among operators and 
guidelines for spectrum licensing and business licensing. 
134. At present, the National Broadcasting and Te lecommunications Commission (NBTC) is the 
independent regulatory body to oversee the br oadcasting and telecommunications business in 
Thailand pursuant to the provisions of the Act on Organization to Assign Ra dio Frequency and to 
Regulate the Broadcasting and Telecommunicati ons Services B.E.2553 (2010) which became 
effective on 20 December 2010. As a result, the role of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has been repealed but the Board of  Commissioners of the NTC  remains in office 
to continue as the acting Board of Commi ssioners for the National Broadcasting and 
Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) until the new Board of Commissioners of the NBTC have 
been appointed in accordance with the Act. 
135. For fixed-line
 telephone services, Thailand has 3 main operators, namely, TOT  Public 
Company Limited (TOT), TRUE Corporation Public  Company Limited (TRUE)  and TT&T  Public 
Company Limited (TT&T) with 10.35% of the penetr ation rate for the whole country ; meanwhile, the 
penetration rate of mobile phone services had rapi dly increased from 27.52% in 2002 to 107.05% in 
2010 (Q4). At present, Thailand has 6 mobile  p hone  operators , namely, Advance Info Service Thailand WT/TPR/G/255 
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  Public Company Limited (AIS), Total Access Communication Public Company Limited (DTAC), 
True Move Company Limited (TrueMove),  CA T Telecom (by Hutch), Digital Phone Company 
Limited (DPC) and TOT (opera ting under TOT 3G brand) . 
136. Overall, the competition in the telecommuni cations industry has increased significantly, 
therefore, the price trend for telecommunications services has been continuously falling, especially 
the price in broadband services which has decrease d around 12% from 1.20 baht per Kbps in 2008 to 
0.88 baht per Kbps in 2010. Meanwhile, the opera tors have increased quality of the services by 
improving the speed to 20 Mbps/1 Mbps in 2010.  
137. For mobile services, a lot of price plans and choices continued to be offered to customers. The 
price of voice service stood at approximately 0.57 per minute in 2010, while the volumes of non-voice 
services significantly increased due to declining prices in non-voice service of around 22% since 2008. For non-voice services, short message services (SMS) has decreased in the largest proportion 
compared to other services by 27.04%, followed by multimedia message service (MMS) by 26.38% 
and Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) by 12.19%. 
138. For fixed-line services, the mark et has been saturated since 2008. However, operators try to 
increase the volumes and revenues by launching more attractive price plans comparable to mobile 
services including access to broadband internet as bundle service.  
139. Moreover, the price of international call ser vices has decreased gradually since 2008 due to 
more competition from four new entrants in 200 8. In addition, the presence of many substitute 
products for international calls has made the price of IDD and VoIP continue to fall.  
140. Over the past years, the NTC has undertaken to promote the telecom sector by improving 
rules and regulations to facilitate the market entry and liberalizing many key services that affect the 
development of the telecom industry. These incl ude the International Internet Gateway (IIG), 
International Private Leased Circuit IPLC, and
 International Direct Dialing (IDD). As of 
December 2010, the NTC granted 247 telecom licen ses to operators comprising 193 Type I (without 
network)  licenses, 32 Type II (with or without network) licenses  and 22 Type 3  (with network) 
licenses. Moreover, the NTC has issu ed many rules and regulations to foster free and fair competition 
such as the NTC Notification on Measures for the Prevention of Monopoly or Unfair Competition in 
the Telecommunications Business (2006)  and the NTC Notification on Market Definition and 
Relevant Market (2008). 
141. During the past few years, the NTC has focu sed its work on the policy for promoting the 
expansion of universal service on basic telecommunications. The Universal Service Fund was 
established within the Office of NTC in 2009 to be  a prominent mechanism for improving access to 
ICTs in unserved and underserved areas of Thailand a nd in bridging the digital divide in the country. 
(11) TOURISM  
142. Tourism and related industries is one of the key sectors providing immense contribution to the 
Thai economy. It has been an effective means of creating job opportunities and raising local incomes 
as well as foreign exchange revenues. Foreign tourists  generate more than 500 billion baht in national 
income each year, e.g. 510.25 billion baht in 2009 and 592.79 billion baht in 2010. 
143. The number of tourists coming to Thailand has grown steadily. In 2010, there were 
approximately 15.93 million international tourist arrivals, up from 14.14 m illion in 2009, which was 
equivalent to an expansion of  12.63% from the previous year. WT/TPR/G/255 Trade Policy Review 
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 144. The tourism industries, ranging from leading fi ve-star hotels and world-class airlines to a 
continuum of restaurants, one-person tour opera tors and secondary businesses, such as primary food 
producers, health providers and domestic transpor tation industries, are Thailand's major source of 
export service revenue. From 2009-2010, income gene rated by hotel (accommodation) and restaurants 
(food and beverage) has significant increased from 244.67 billion baht to 288.15 billion baht, 
equalling to 17.77% growth. 
145. The Government has been very active in upgrad ing infrastructures, including public roads, 
telecommunications, waste disposal and the safety sta ndards of public facilities, to keep abreast with 
the industry's growth and to ensure the industry's long-term stability. 
146. The main laws governing the tourism sector are the Tourism Authority of Thailand Act 
B.E. 2522 (1979); the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999); the Tourism Industry Council Act of 
Thailand B.E. 2544 (2001); the Hotel Act B.E. 2547 (2004); the Tourism Business and Guide Act 
B.E. 2551 (2008); the National Tourism Policy Act B. E. 2551 (2008); and other laws and regulations 
related to the operation of restaurants, hotels and other tourism-related services. 
147. The National Tourism Development Plan B.E.  2555-2559 (2012-2016) aims to develop 
Thailand as a highly competitive, world-class touris t destination, becoming a significant source of 
national revenue that will be distri buted in balance and sustainable manner. In order to achieve such 
goal, five strategic directions have been set as follows: 
 (i) the development of basic infrastructures and facilities for tourism purposes; 
 (ii) the development and re habilitation of tourist destinations for sustainability; 
 (iii) the development of tourism products, se rvices and other supporting tourism factors; 
 (iv) the improvement of tourism confidence and tourism promotion; and 
 (v) the encouragement of participation pro cess from all related sectors, including public 
 sectors, civil societies and local administrations, in tourism management. 
148. In accordance with Chapter 5 Section 14 of th e Act Amending Ministry, Sub-Ministry and 
Department B.E. 2545 (2002), the Ministry of Touris m and Sports (MOTS) has authority to promote, 
support and develop tourism industr y, sports, sports education, recreation and other affairs as 
specified by law to be the authority of this Ministry  or authority of  governmental agencies under this 
Ministry. 
149. Office of the Permanent Secretary, under the MOTS, is responsible fo r formulating strategic 
development, policy implementation, resource alloca tion, public relations, tourist assistance, crisis 
management, including monitoring the performance of agencies under the MOTS. 
150. Department of Tourism (DOT), under the MOTS,  is responsible for developing tourism 
standards and tourist attraction s ites and statistical analysis of tourism, including the support of 
standard touring business and tour guide, in order to initiate economic, social and cultural advantages 
and sustainable tourism. 
151. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), under the supervision of the MOTS, is responsible 
for tourism promotion and marketing through d estination marketing campaigns, advertising and Thailand WT/TPR/G/255 
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  public relations, marketing and sales promotions and participation in in ternational travel trade shows. 
The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (Pub lic Organization) (TCEB), in partnership with 
the TAT, is responsible for prom oting meetings, incentive travel, conventions and exhibitions, known 
as "MICE", to make Thailand a regional hub for MICE events. 
152. The Tourist Police Division, an agency affiliate d with the Central Investigation Bureau and 
the Royal Thai Police working under the superv ision of the MOTS, is responsible for crime 
prevention and suppression affecting bot h Thai and international tourists. 
(12) INVESTMENT  
153. Thailand's investment regime is among the most liberal in the region.  Foreign investment 
from all countries is welcomed as Thailand recogn izes its importance for economic development, 
employment and technology transfer.  Various kinds of investment incentives ar e offered, with some 
restrictions for certain industries and activities. 
154. Foreign investment is generally governed  by the Foreign Business Act B.E.2542 ) 1999(,  t h e  
Alien Employment Act B.E 2521 ) 1978( , the Investment Promotion Act B.E 2520 ) 1977(,  a s  
amended, and other laws re lating to foreign investment.  The subject of such legislation includes, for 
instance, immigration law, exchange controls, im port and export regulations, and stock exchange 
regulations. 
155. According to the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999), foreign participation is allowed in a 
wide range of activities, such as brokerage services,  wholesale and retail trade, construction, non-silk 
textiles, garments, footwear, hotels, beverage pr oduction, and auction businesses.  However, foreign 
investors are required to obtain necessary permissions from relevant ministries to be able to operate.  
Such permissions may take differe nt forms, varying from commercial and tax registrations to licenses 
to operate a factory and obtain work permits and visas.  Investors seeking protection under Bilateral 
Investment Treaties to which Thailand is a party ar e required to apply for approval for protection in 
accordance with the terms of the treaties, usually in the form of a Certificate of Approval for 
Protection (C.A.P) from the Committee on the Approva l for the Protection of Investments between 
Thailand and Other Countries.  
156. In terms of incentives, the Board of Investment  (BOI) imposes no foreign equity restrictions, 
local content requirements or export requirement s. Moreover, the Government has improved the 
internal procedures to facilitate businesses and i nvestment in Thailand, and set up a One-Start 
One-Stop Investment Centre (OSOS)6 providing information and consultative services to investors 
with the representative from 20 government agencies re lated to investment in Thailand represented at 
one place since 2009. The BOI is poised to become mo re proactive in attracting projects in industrial 
sectors that will improve both the qua lity and quantity of investment.   
(13) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS  
Overview 
157. Thailand fully recognizes that a strong and efficient intellectual property system can help 
promote long term growth and ensure Thailand's comp etitiveness in the global market.  To this end, 
the Royal Thai Government has undertaken seve ral measures to facilitate the development of 
intellectual property system on all aspects including creation, protection, utilization and enforcement 
                                                      
6 Viewed at:  http://osos.boi.go.th. WT/TPR/G/255 Trade Policy Review 
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 of intellectual property rights. Creative Economy Po licy was launched in 2009.  A number of IPR 
related legislation amendments and enactments are be ing carried out.  Public awareness campaigns on 
IPR have been conducted targeting different groups of stakeholders such as academies and 
researchers, youth, enforcement officers and the ge neral public.  Furthermore, Thailand has recently 
become a member to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and the Paris Convention for the Protection 
of Industrial Property.  It is also working toward  the accession to the Madrid Protocol in the near 
future. 
Developments at the Policy Level 
158. The Eleventh National Economic and Social De velopment Plan, which will be implemented 
from 2012 to 2016, attaches high priority to the de velopment of intellectual property, creative 
economy and human resources as they are keys to  the country's sustainable development and 
competitiveness.  Government measures will be guid ed by full recognition of the importance of 
efficient intellectual property regime, creativity and human knowledge in the process of creating 
social and economic justice and promoting the co untry's growth and international competitiveness. 
159. The Royal Thai Government embraces the Creative Economy policy with a vision to 
transform Thailand into a creative economy by the end of 2012.  In August 2009, the Prime Minister, 
Mr. Abhisit Vejjaviva formally announced the Creat ive Thailand policy.  Twelve-point commitments 
to increase the value of Thailand's creative industr ies to 20 per cent of the country's GDP were 
announced along with the ultimate goal of maki ng Thailand the creative hub of ASEAN.   
160. Since then, various creative projects have been  implemented to inspire entrepreneurs and 
general public to explore creativity within themse lves and use it to create value added to their goods 
and services.  There are also projects focusing on the utilization and commercialization of the R&D results conducted by universities a nd research institutes.  Other projects include Creative King, 
Creative Kids, Center of Excellence, and Creative C ity, among others.  Thailand also hosted the first 
Thailand Creative Economy Forum (TICEF) in Nove mber 2010 which was the global platform for 
international experts on creative economy to share their views and experiences on the promotion of 
creative economy.  The event was a success with approximately 1,500 participants from 50 countries 
and a large number of creative economy experts.  Thailand is now looking forward to hosting the 
second TICEF by the end of 2011. 
161. The National Committee on Prevention and Su ppression of Intellectual Property Rights 
Violation was established by the Cabinet in Janua ry 2009.  It was renamed as the National Committee 
on Intellectual Property Policy later in July the same  year to ensure its roles as a policy-maker body 
that is responsible for the whole area of IPR of the country.  The Committee is chaired by the Prime 
Minister with high-level representatives from concerned ministries including the Ministry of 
Education, Public Health, Foreign Affairs, Just ice and also a representative from the Royal Thai 
Police.  The Committee meets at least twice a y ear to discuss the policy issues regarding the 
promotion of IP system in Thailand. 
Legislative changes 
162. The Royal Thai Government recognizes that m odernized intellectual property laws are an 
imperative for the changing world trading system and its pursuit to become a creative economy.  Therefore, various legislative amendment and enactme nt processes have been initiated since the last 
Trade Policy Review including the drafting of an ti-unauthorized camcording legislation and the Thailand WT/TPR/G/255 
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  introduction of second liability provisions to Copyright  Law criminalizing the landlords who facilitate 
the intellectual property infringing activities on their premises.   
163. The revision of the existing legislations are also on process such as the amendment to the 
Copyright Act to provide better protection to works in digital form, the amendment to the Trademark 
Act to provide protection to unconventional marks and the revision of the penalties set forth in the 
Trade Secret Act.   
164. For the legislative review plan of 2011, the De partment of Intellectual Property will revise the 
Patent Act to, among others; expedite the patent  registration process, implement the Paragraph 
6 system of the Doha Declaration and explore the po ssibility to carve out design patent and make it a 
separate law. 
165. The Trademark Act will be further revised to  incorporate the provisions to implement the 
Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Con cerning the International Registration of Marks 
(Madrid Protocol). 
166. The OD Production Act, which has been in forced since 1999, will also be revised to facilitate 
the notification process for those who would like to have their works produced in the form of OD. 
167. It should be noted that in all IP-related le gislative reviews, adequate and transparent 
participation of stakeholders is ensured. 
Accession to International Treaties on IP 
168. Since the last Trade Policy Review in 2007, Thailand has achieved c onsiderable success in 
accession to two major international treaties on inte llectual property namely, the Paris Convention for 
the Protection of Industrial Property (1967) (Paris  Convention) and the Patent Cooperation Treaty 
(PCT).   
169. Thailand's industrial property related legislati ons have all been complied with the provisions 
of the Paris Convention for many years.  Howe ver, Thailand successfully accessed to the Convention 
on 2 May 2008, and the Convention subsequently en tered into force regarding Thailand on 
2 August 2008.   
170. Thailand became a contracting party to th e Patent Cooperation Treaty on 24 September 2009 
and the PCT became effective for Thailand on 24 Dece mber 2009.  Thailand sees this as a major step 
in bringing up its intellectual property protection regi me to meet with global trend and facilitate Thai 
innovators in seeking for patent protection abroad . Since then, nearly a hundred of Thai patent 
applications were filed through the PCT system, an d hundreds of foreign applications have reached 
Thai national phrase since 24 June 2011.  A new section has been set up in the Department of 
Intellectual Property to take care of PCT related works. 
171. Thailand has established cooperation with a numbe r of intellectual property offices to act as 
the International Search Authority (ISA) and Inte rnational Preliminary Examination Authority (IPEA) 
as required by the PCT namely, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the European Patent 
Office (EPO), the State Intellectual Property Office of the People Republic of China (SIPO), the 
Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) and IP Australia. 
172. As ASEAN member countries are working to ward the ASEAN Economic Community by 
2015, Thailand committed to the access to the Protocol  Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning WT/TPR/G/255 Trade Policy Review 
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 the International Registration of Marks (Madrid Protoc ol) to facilitate the international registration of 
marks among members by 2015.  Nonetheless, Thailand expects to accede to the Madrid Protocol by 
2013. 
Suppression Efforts 
173. The Department of Intellectual Property has main tained close dialogue with relevant agencies 
namely, the Royal Thai Police, the Department of Special Investigation and the Customs Department).  Interagency cooperation has been  strengthened over the years in monitoring and 
tracking illicit activities, raiding, arresting and seizing infringing goods.  A HOT LINE 1368 was set up in the Department of Intellectual Property as a new channel for direct reporting of suspicious 
activities or problematic situations that might  involve intellectual property infringement.   
174. Statistic showed that in 2010, the Royal Thai Police and the Department of Special 
Investigation conducted 5,573 raids against IPR infri ngement, in which more than 4.3 million pieces 
of IPR infringing goods were seized.  In th e same year, the Customs Department stopped 
588 shipments and seized more than 290,000 pieces of infringing goods. 
175. Thailand recognizes the importance of preven ting the seized IPR infringing goods from re-
entering the market, therefore, on ce the cases have reached the fina l judicial decision, such goods 
shall be destroyed.  In 2010 there were three d estruction ceremonies of IPR infringing goods in which 
878,757 pieces of goods were destroyed.  For 2011, th e first destruction ceremony was organized in 
Phuket Province on 30 June 2011 where 95,038 pieces of IPR infringing goods worth more than 
58 million Baht were destroyed and the next ceremony  are scheduled to be organized in August 2011 
within Bangkok area. 
Public Awareness 
176. Thailand attaches significant importance to aw areness campaigns emphasizing the value and 
importance of intellectual property including the role  it plays in social and economic development.  
Apart from general knowledge on IPR provided through various seminars, leafle ts and conferences, 
curriculums on intellectual property were developed a nd trialed in pilot schools .  IP Camp, which was 
a project aiming at provide awareness on IP to st udents was organized.  Warning signs and posters 
have been installed in public areas su ch as shopping malls and airports.   
Dialogue with right holders 
177. The Royal Thai Government values active involve ment of stakeholders as a means to enable 
the national IPR regime to achieve balance between the protection of the right holders and access to 
innovation and knowledge of the ge neral public.  A number of c onsultations between concerned 
government agencies and various groups of stak eholders such as indus tries, patent holder 
representatives, foreign embassies representatives and pu blic organizations have been held during the 
past few years.  The discussions include various topi cs of mutual interests such as the enhancement of 
coordination and information sharing among public  and private agencies to combat piracy, 
co-organization of seminars and technical support on the role of IP and the global trends, and 
development of IP-related le gislations, among others.   
Conclusion 
178. In the coming years, Thailand will be focusing its resources on capacity building of the 
Department of Intellectual Property including the re duction of patent and trademark back logs.  The Thailand WT/TPR/G/255 
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  passage of the IP laws and amendments and the accession to international treaties will be expedited 
along with enhanced efforts on enforcement and awareness raising.   
(14) COMPETITION POLICY  
179. In order to improve the effectiveness of th e law enforcement and create fairer competition 
between the public and private sectors, the Trad e Competition Act 1999 was planned to be revised by 
expanding the scope of the law to apply to state-ow ned enterprises, especially in the form of public 
company, that complete with the private sect or. Currently the amendment proposal is under 
consideration of the Office of the Council of State.  
180. Apart from the law enforcement, the Offi ce of Trade Competition Commission also 
implements non-enforcement mechanism, as comp etition advocacy, in order to build awareness of 
benefits of competition and compliance of the law by carrying out the outreach program for 
businesses. In addition, the Office of Trade Compet ition Commission makes an effort in formulating 
academician competition-networking by having MOUs on "Technical Cooperation on Competition 
Law" with major educational institute (i.e . Law Faculty, Chulalongkorn University). 
181. Office of Trade Competition Commission support building competition culture in the ASEAN 
through a member of ASEAN Experts Group on Competition (AEGC) by participating in the 
developing of Regional Guidelines on Competiti on Policy (RGL)" and "Handbook on Competition 
Policy and Law in ASEAN for Business (HB)".  The RGL and HB are also introduced and 
disseminated in Thai business community  through competition advocacy program. 
(15) INITIATIVE IN THE WTO 
182. Thailand has been and will continue to be an active player in multilateral trade negotiations, 
as well as a strong supporter of the successful conclu sion of the Doha Development Agenda.  Since 
Thailand's last review it has submitted a number of  proposals in the areas of agriculture, NAMA, 
rules, and DSU for other Members to consider. 
183. As an economy in which agriculture play s a significant role, Thailand attaches great 
importance to the WTO's agriculture negotiations .  Along with the CAIRNS Group and G20, the 
country is in favour of substantial improvement in  market access, considerab le reduction of domestic 
support while incorporating stricter disciplin es, and elimination of export subsidies.  
184. In the negotiations on market access for non-ag ricultural products, Th ailand stepped up its 
efforts to reach a compromise on extreme positions by joining some developing countries in proposing a possible middle ground solution in NAMA.  The aim was to show the flexibility needed 
to conclude the negotiations in a timely manner, as well as provide contributions to the Round.  
185. Thailand also gives priority to S&D provisions, which are necessary to ensure that developing 
countries can fully and effectively implement all WT O provisions and that their participation will not 
only lead to increased obligations but al so yield greater commensurate benefits.  
186. Equally important are rules and disciplines under the WTO's Agreement on Anti-Dumping 
and on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, which c ould be further clarified and improved so that 
they cannot be easily used as a disguised form of non-tariff barriers. WT/TPR/G/255 Trade Policy Review 
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 V. REGIONAL TRADE ARRANGEMENTS AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION 
(1) ASEAN 
187. ASEAN is moving towards becoming the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015.  
The following 4 characteristi cs are envisaged by the AEC: 
 (1) Single Market and Production Base with free flow of goods, services, investment and 
 skilled labor, and freer flow of capital; 
 (2) Competitive Economic Region; 
 (3) Equitable Economic Development;  and 
 (4) Integration into the Global Economy. 
Liberalization of Trade in Goods 
 
188. On 14th May 2011, Thailand ratified the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA). 
Subsequently, the ATIGA entered into force and superseded the Agreement on The Common 
Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) Scheme fo r The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA).  All 
commitments to reduce and eliminate tariff and non -tariff barriers under the CEPT are contained in 
the ATIGA. 
189. Substantial progress in terms of tariff reduction/elimination is evident.  Since 1 January 2010, 
the 6 original ASEAN Member states (Brunei,  Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and 
Thailand) have brought down their tariffs on mo st goods to 0%, and the CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, 
Myanmar and Viet Nam) also brought down their ta riffs to the level of 0-5%.  To this end, 
approximately 99.8% of Thailand's total tariff lin es are already at 0% while tariff rates of the 
remaining tariff lines are below 5%.  
190. Further efforts have been exerted collectively by  all ASEAN member states to facilitate trade 
within the region.  Rules of Origin have been si mplified, and ASEAN is in  the process of compiling 
the data on non-tariff barriers to seek pragmatic ap proach to eventually e liminate these barriers to 
trade.  ASEAN Trade Facilitation Framework and wo rk plans to address other trade-related issues 
such as customs procedures and SPS have also b een adopted.  ASEAN Single Window will soon be in 
operation to reduce the customs release time and help reduce costs of business transactions.  Self-
Certification pilot project has been implemented by  Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore since November 
2010 while Thailand prepares to join the pilot project by October 2011. 
Liberalization of Trade in Services 
 
191. To date, ASEAN has concluded 7 (seven) following MRAs:   
 (1) MRA on Engineering Services; 
 (2) MRA on Nursing Services; 
 (3) MRA on Architectural Services; Thailand WT/TPR/G/255 
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   (4) Framework Arrangement for the Mutual Recognition of Surveying Qualifications; 
 (5) MRA Framework on Accountancy Services; 
 (6) MRA on Medical Practitioners;  and 
 (7) MRA on Dental Practitioners. 
192. These MRAs are in various stage of implementation. 
193. In February 2009, ASEAN signed the Protocol to Implement the 7th Package of Commitments 
under the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Servi ces (AFAS).  Thailand's schedule of specific 
commitments covered approximately 100 services s ub-sectors with equity participation capped at 
49%. 
194. On 28th August 2010, ASEAN Economic Ministers signed the Protocol to Implement the 8th 
Package of Commitments under the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS) at the 17th 
ASEAN Summit and related Summits in Hanoi, Vietnam.  By the end of 2011, following the mandate 
set out in the AEC Blueprint, ASEAN member states  are set to submit their schedule of commitments 
with over 80 services sub-sectors with equity participa tion of at least 70% for the Priority Integrated 
Sectors: PIS, namely, e-ASEAN (Computer/Telecommunications Services), Healthcare Services and Tourism Services, while the equity participation of the remaining sub-sectors in the schedule of 
commitment will be at least 51%. 
195. Therefore, by 2012, Thailand's services lib eralization commitment under AFAS will be 
deeper than most of its free tr ade agreements, including the WTO. 
Liberalization of Investment 
 
196. The Framework Agreement on the ASEAN Investment Area (AIA) was reviewed and 
superseded by the ASEAN Comprehensive Investme nt Area (ACIA).  ACIA, signed in 2009, is 
comprehensive and covers investment protection,  promotion and facilitati on. To date, all ASEAN 
Member States except Indonesia and Thailand have ra tified the ACIA.  Thailand will ratify the ACIA 
as soon as the internal process has been completed.    
Future outlook  
 
197. Having been successful in trade and invest ment liberalization, ASEAN will put more 
emphasis on the 3
rd pillar of the AEC, i.e. to achieve an equitable economic development, by 
enhancing the capability of its SME sector and re ducing development gap among its member states. 
198. To this end, ASEAN is in the process of developing the strategies to promote SME growth 
and participation in the AEC building process.   Common training scheme for ASEAN SME was 
established and the ASEAN Strategic Action Plan  for SME Development (2010-2015) has been 
developed to enhance the competitiven ess and resilience of ASEAN SME. 
199. To reduce the development gap among its member states, the Initiative for ASEAN 
Integration (IAI) has been implemented.  Currently  ASEAN is in the Second Phase of IAI which will 
be implemented during 2009-2015.  The scheme ta rgets the needs of the newer ASEAN Member 
States (CLMV) and comprises cooperation programs in various areas as stipulated in the AEC WT/TPR/G/255 Trade Policy Review 
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 Blueprints.  Strong emphasis will be put on key activities that are important and necessary for 
ASEAN economic integration. 
200. Additionally, ASEAN has successfully conclude d FTA negotiations with many of its major 
trading partners such as China, Japan, Korea, Indi a, and Australia-New Zealand to keep ASEAN an 
outward-looking region and integrate into th e global economy.  US, Canada, EU, GCC and 
MERCOSUR are also dialogue partner countries with  whom ASEAN have establish fruitful economic 
relations. 
(2) APEC 
201. APEC has engaged in extensive work in th e area of RTAs/FTAs and is developing model 
measures chapters that could be used by member economies in their negotiations in order to achieve 
high-quality and comprehensive RTAs/FTAs.  Th ailand has been active in this work, having 
proposed 4 of the 17 model measures put forward,  on Cooperation, Sanitary and Phytosanitary 
measures, Subsidies and Countervailing measures, and Anti-dumping.  In November 2006, 6 model 
measures were approved by APEC Leaders:  Coope ration, Trade in Goods, Technical Barriers to 
Trade, Transparency, Government Procurement a nd Dispute Settlement.  The remaining 11 model 
measures remain under discussion.  Once completed,  APEC economies can use the model measures 
voluntarily in their RTA/FTA negotiations. 
202. In APEC, Trade Facilitation is one of the three pillars contained in the Osaka Action Agenda, 
a template for future APEC works towards ach ieving the Bogor goals.  Thailand recognizes the 
significance of trade facilitation in relation to  the economy's overall trade strategy and has 
implemented agreements, conventi ons, and recommendations supplementing the development of the 
trade facilitation in areas such as harmonization of standards and conformance, simplification and 
streamlining of customs procedures, enhanced tran sparency of customs services to assist traders, 
improved cooperation and c oordination among private-public sectors, use of risk management for 
trade control, IT and e-commerce for improved trad e documentation, and mobility of business people.  
Thailand's efforts in the above areas have contribut ed towards APEC's aim to reduce transaction costs 
by 5% from 2001-2005.  Furtherm ore, Thailand will continue to make improvements in trade 
facilitation in order to meet APEC's future endea vours to reduce transaction costs a further 5% during 
2006-2010. 
(3) ASIA-EUROPE MEETING (ASEM) 
203. The first Summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) was held in Bangkok in March 1996.  
The principal goals of the ASEM are to establis h a comprehensive partne rship between Asia and 
Europe, to create favourable conditions for economic and social development of the two continents, 
and to maintain world peace and stability.  To th is end, ASEM addresses three main pillars namely, 
politics, economics, and finance, as well as social, cultu ral and educational fields.  Fifteen years later, 
ASEM has expanded from 26 to 48 members, compri sing the 10 ASEAN members and its Secretariat, 
the 27 EU members and the European Commission, 6 Northeast and South Asian countries, namely 
China, Japan, Mongolia, South Korea, India and Pa kistan, and  3 new members, namely, Australia, 
New Zealand and Russia.  
204. Thailand has been particularly active in the area of economic cooperation.  It has drafted the 
Investment Promotion Action Plan (IPAP) and served as co-facilitator of 3 sectors in the Trade Facilitation Action Plan (TFAP) – standards a nd conformity assessment issues, sanitary and 
phytosanitary issues, and intellectual property.  A project financed by the ASEM Trust Fund since Thailand WT/TPR/G/255 
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  1998 to provide technical assistance on restructuring the financial sector and facilitating sustainable 
poverty reduction was completed in 2006.  Exch ange of views on the progress of the Doha 
Development Agenda among Asian and European members is a re gular agenda item during the 
meetings of Leaders, Foreign Ministers and Economic Ministers. 
(i) Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation 
 (BIMST-EC) 
205. To enhance sub-regional economic ties with count ries to the West, Thailand adopted a "Look 
West" Policy a decade ago.  In 1997, the Declar ation on the establishment of Bangladesh-India-Sri 
Lanka-Thailand Economic Cooperati on (BIST-EC) was launched in Bangkok.  The membership was 
later extended to Myanmar, upon which the name  of the grouping was changed to BIMST-EC 
(Bangladesh-India-Myanmar-Sri Lanka-Thailand Econom ic Cooperation).  Subsequently in 2003, 
membership was further granted to Nepal and Bhut an.  Then, at the First Summit held in Bangkok on 
31 July 2004, the name of this group was changed to the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral 
Technical and Economic Cooperation, or BIMSTEC.  
206. Currently, there are 14 cooperation sectors: trad e and investment, technology, transportation 
and communication, energy, tourism, fisheries, ag riculture, public health, environment and disaster 
management, counter terrorism and transnational crime, poverty alleviation, cultural cooperation, 
people-to-people contact, and climate change, each  with a designated lead country. Among them, 
Thailand has the lead in fisheries, pub lic health, and people-to-people contact. 
207.  For promoting trade and investment in this  region, a framework agreement BIMSTEC FTA 
was signed on 8 February 2004, providing for the progressive establishment of a free trade area, as 
well as the launching of negotiations for the eliminat ion of discrimination and liberalization of trade 
in services in line with the WTO provisions. Th e framework covers Trade in Goods, Trade in 
Services, Investment and Economic Cooperation. The Trade in Goods Agreement is scheduled to be 
signed by the end of 2011 and implemented by 2012. 
(ii) Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) 
208. The Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) aims to tap into Asia's strengths to enhance the 
competitiveness of member countries and maximize the complementarities of their diverse and rich resources.  The ACD is a top-down process, intended to foster closer dialogue among Asian Foreign Ministers and cooperation on development issues.  The forum also aims to add value to country 
efforts and serve as a "missing link" to bring toge ther existing sub-regional and regional cooperative 
mechanisms in Asia.  Its core guiding principl es are positive thinking, informality, voluntarism, 
non-institutionalization, openness, diversity, and the comfort level of member countries. 
209. The ACD was established in 2002 with 18 member countries.  Now entering into its 6th year, 
the forum has expanded to include 30 member count ries, representing every geographical sub-region 
of the continent:  north, east, south, west, and ce ntral Asia.  It has made steady progress along 
two major dimensions:  cooperation and dialogue.  
210. On the cooperation front, the ACD focuses on technical cooperation in various areas.  Some 
member countries volunteer to serve as prime a nd co-prime movers in areas where they have 
expertise;  others participate in areas of interest by sharing their best practices.  There are currently 19 areas of cooperation:  agriculture, standard s, biotechnology, e-commerce, e-education, 
environmental education, energy, financial cooperation, human res ource development, infrastructure WT/TPR/G/255 Trade Policy Review 
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 funding, IT development, natural disaster manageme nt, poverty alleviation, road safety, science and 
technology, SME cooperation, strengthening legal in frastructure, tourism and transport linkages.  
211. On the dialogue dimension, ACD Ministers meet  twice annually, once at the ACD Ministerial 
Meeting to discuss ACD developments, issues of re gional cooperation and ways to enhance Asian 
solidarity.  The ACD Foreign Ministers also m eet once again on the sidelines of the UN General 
Assembly in New York in September to update one another on the progress of ACD cooperation 
projects and to discuss international issues of mutual  concern.  Member countries have taken turns 
hosting the past six annual Ministerial Meetings.  The 9th ACD Ministerial Meeting was hosted by 
Iran in Tehran on 8-9 June 2010.  Kuwait and Ta jikistan will host the 10th and 11th ACD Ministerial 
Meetings in 2011 and 2012, respectively.  
(iii) Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Econom ic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) 
212. The aim of ACMECS, a forum initiated by Tha iland in 2003, is to help narrow the economic 
gaps between Thailand and its neighbouring countri es of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and, to a 
lesser extent, Viet Nam.  ACMECS seeks to build  upon existing regional co operation programs and 
complement bilateral frameworks wherever possible.  The key ar eas of cooperation under ACMECS 
are trade and investment facilita tion, transport linkages, agriculture, industry and energy, public 
health, tourism and human resource development. 
213. ACMECS also supports the goals of ASEAN as  well as other regional and sub-regional 
frameworks, and thus continues to form a major component of Thailand's foreign policy.  ACMECS 
also welcomes the participation of development partners from outsi de the region in its development 
assistance projects. 
214. Through ACMECS, significant progress has been ma de in key areas of cooperation, such as 
trade and investment facilitation, agriculture, indus trial and energy, tourism, and human resource 
development. Major projects include: (1) Contract  Farming scheme with Cambodia, Lao PDRs and 
Myanmar;  (2) the establishment of industrial est ate along the border areas; (3) ACMECS Single Visa 
initiative under "Five Countries One Destination" concept in which Thailand and Cambodia have 
launched their pilot project last year;  and (4) th e provision of training and scholarship programmes 
based on the basis of self-reliance and shared interes 
(iv) Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) 
215. Established in 1993, Indonesia-Malaysia-Tha iland Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) was the ideal 
of the three leaders to promote sub-regional c ooperation through economic complementarities among 
the triangle areas to drive growth and developm ent in the sub-region covering the southernmost 
region of Thailand, the northern region of Malays ia and the northern part of Sumatra Island of 
Indonesia in terms of trade, investment, agricultu re and agro-processing as well as tourism and service 
sectors. With the need for greater economic inte gration, more opportunities in linkages of value-
chains and logistics as well as bigger size of intra- market, the IMT-GT areas have been extended to 
presently cover 14 provinces of the southern Tha iland, 8 states of Malaysia and 10 provinces of 
Sumatra Island, Indonesia. This is with greater hope on more efficient utilization of resources to 
achieve maximum production capacity as well as better  linkages and accesses to markets both within 
the areas of the three countries in the sub-regi on and beyond to adjacent areas in ASEAN countries 
and further to other sub-regional areas for example BIMSTEC. 
216. IMT-GT has been geared for future cooperati on by recent IMT-GT Summits. In the Fourth 
Summit in Hua Hin, Thailand in 2009, Mid-term  Review of the IMT-GT Roadmap 2007-2010 has Thailand WT/TPR/G/255 
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  been initiated to streamline feasible projects and pr ograms of cooperation. During the Fifth Summit in 
Hanoi, Vietnam in 2010, greater focus has been pressed by the leaders for better connect with 
ASEAN under the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity and better preparedness in the next five years 
cooperation in the IMT-GT Implementation Bluepr int 2012-2016. Presently, six areas of cooperation 
have been selected namely (1) infrastructure and transportation;  (2) trade and investment; 
(3) tourism; (4) Halal products and services; (5) hu man resources development; and (6) agriculture, 
agro-production and environment, with other ne w areas of mutual interests covering alternative 
energy as well as food safety and food security. Tha iland is the lead country for tourism and Halal 
product and services.  
217. Thailand and Malaysia also have mutual inte rest in various development projects at the 
bordering areas between the two countries, namely establishment of border economic zones utilizing 
economic complementarities of the southern Thaila nd and East Coast Economic Region (ECER) and 
Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) of Malaysia. Whilst, major programs on development 
of new deep sea ports along Andaman Coast of Thaila nd have been initiated in order to better serve 
sea transportation network with Ma laysia and Sumatra as well as to create better access to IMT-GT 
intra-market and beyond. 
218. The future cooperation of IMT-GT before ASEAN areas become ASEAN community in 2015 
will concentrate on promoting trade and investment  utilizing hardware side, existing and future 
developed infrastructure in the priority connectivit y projects as well as expected closer cooperation on 
software side, customs-immigration-quarantine single stops. 
(v) Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) 
219. In 1992, with assistance from Asian Developmen t Bank (ADB), Along with the other five 
members, Cambodia, China (Yunnan Province and Guang Xi Zhuang Autonomous Region), 
Myanmar, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam, Thailand shares the GMS vision on a Subregion that is competitive, more integrated, harmonious and prospe rous through 3 Cs Strategy and to support the 
ASEAN goal in reducing the gap development of each members and becoming single market and 
single manufacturing base.    
220. Cooperation under GMS work program consists of 9 areas: (1) transportation; 
(2) telecommunication; (3) energy; (4) tourism;  (5) human resource development; (6) natural 
resources and environment; (7) trade facilitation; (8 ) investment;  and (9) agriculture. The work 
program has centered on developmen t in economic corridor, in the past 2-3 years Economic Corridor 
Forum or ECF has been organized in order to increase participations from various province in 
Economic Corridor. There are many work progra ms underway such as Cross Border Transport 
Agreement: CBTA, Regional Power Market, Inform ation Superhighway in order to support ICT 
application in the sub-region, Single destination in tourism, Agriculture Information Network Service. 
Core Environmental Program – Biodiversity Co rridor Initiative: CEP-BCI, governmental human 
resource development under Phnom Penh Plan. Tha iland plays important roles in financial and 
technical assistances to her neighbours which in clude infrastructure development, agricultural 
potential building, health, and education and other areas through Neighbouring Countries Economic 
Development Cooperation Agency (Public Orga nization (NEDA) and Thailand International 
Development Cooperation Agency (TICA). 
221. The New GMS Strategic Framework 
 2012-2022 which is under consid eration and will be 
considered by the 4th GMS Summit in December 2011 at Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. The New 
framework would provide more syndication and effectiveness by initiating regional coordinating WT/TPR/G/255 Trade Policy Review 
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 mechanisms in energy and train supplement from th e existing one, designing investment plans in the 
sub-region in order to make the most effective uses of the members' resources and development 
partners, including continuous mon itoring an and assessing plan. The new challenged issues for in the 
next century that GMS work programs need to put  into action are as follows: supporting cross-border 
investment and economic activity, enlarging infrastru cture network to sub-routes and rural area, and 
also connecting railway-network in the sub-regi on, reaction to climate change and low-carbon 
development. 
(vi) Free trade agreements 
222. While the multilateral trading system remains a priority for Thailand, regional cooperation is 
at the same time seen as an important instrument  in complementing strengths and cushioning regional 
economies from external shocks.  Thailand views th at free trade agreements are one of the stepping 
stones towards free trade at the multilateral level as they allow gradual increases in market access for 
FTA partners, while granting domestic industries time  to adjust to progressively liberalized exposure 
to global competition. 
223. Thailand has taken a proactive approach in st rengthening trade ties with its major trading 
partners.  Not only has Thailand engaged in bilate ral negotiations, it has also taken part in the 
negotiations of FTAs between ASEAN and some dialogue partners such as ASEAN-Japan, 
ASEAN-China, ASEAN-Korea, ASEAN-Australia and Ne w Zealand.  On the bilateral front, Thailand 
is now in the process of negotiations with Peru, India and Chile. 
(vii) Bilateral arrangements 
224. Thailand and Australia signed the Thailand-Au stralia Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA), on 
5 July 2004 which entered into force on 1 January 2005.   It will lead to the complete elimination of 
Thailand's tariffs across all sectors by 2025.  The agreement also improves the environment for trade 
in goods, bilateral services, inv estment and business mobility. Both parties expect to launch a new 
round of bilateral negotiations wh ich cover issues of Services , Government Procurement and 
Competition Policy by 2012. 
225. The Thailand and New Zealand Closer Econom ic Partnership Agreement was signed on 
19 April 2005 and became effective on 1 July 200 5.  The initial tariff elimination took place upon 
implementation of the agreement and the second r ound followed on 1 January 2006.  Subsequent 
tariff reductions are to be applied on 1 January each year with the remaining tariffs and quotas totally 
removed in 2025. A new round of bilateral negotiations in issues of Services and Government 
Procurement expected to start by 2012. 
226. A comprehensive Japan-Thailand Economic Pa rtnership Agreement (JTEPA) was signed in 
Tokyo on 3 April 2007, covering trade in goods, trade in services and investment, as well as economic 
cooperation.  The agreement entered into force on 1 November 2007.  More than 90% of total tariff 
lines will be subjected to tariff reduction/eliminatio n or tariff quota, accounting to more than 95% of 
2005 import value from the other party.  Additions to or improvements in WTO commitments of the 
other party are also given to some services sectors.  
227. Thailand and Peru have signed the Protocol to accelerate the liberalization of trade in Goods 
and Trade Facilitation in 2005 and its  related Protocols including the Additional Protocol (2006), the 
2nd Additional Protocol (2009) and 3rd Additional Protocol (2010). Currently, both sides are in the 
process of undertaking their internal procedures to  implement the Early Harvest Scheme by 2011. Thailand WT/TPR/G/255 
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  228. Thailand and Chile is currently under the process of the FTA negotiations. Both sides 
announced the launch of the FTA negotiations in November 2010. The negotiations were conducted 
in three rounds in April, May, and August 2011 respectively. The Th ailand- Chile FTA will be one of 
the comprehensive bilateral FTAs, covering major elements on trade in goods, trade in services, 
investment, and economic cooperation.  
(viii) Regional arrangements 
229. Through ASEAN, Thailand is actively pursuing regional trade liberalization.  ASEAN 
together with China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (or ASEAN+3) agreed in November 2002 to 
explore the possibility to establish an East Asia Free Trade Area (EAFTA).     
230. During the 2nd East Asia Summit (EAS) in Cebu, Philippines, on 15 January 2007, the 
leaders of ASEAN member countries and Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea and New 
Zealand (ASEAN+6) exchanged views that economic  integration in East Asia had increased in 
importance.  As a result, they agreed to expl ore possible frameworks for economic integration among 
ASEAN+6 (Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia : CEPEA).  At the 4th East Asia 
Summit in Thailand in 2009, the leaders of ASEAN+ 6 agreed that CEPEA and East Asia Free Trade 
Area (EAFTA) could be examined and considered in parallel.  ASEAN is currently working on the 
structure and template for the ASEAN regi onal architecture (ASEAN++ FTA) which will be 
considered by the ASEAN Leaders at the ASEAN Summit Meeting in November 2011. 
231. For ASEAN-Japan, ASEAN-Japan Comprehe nsive Economic Partnership Agreement 
(AJCEP) came into force on 1 December 2008.  At  the ASEAN-Japan Summit in Vietnam in October 
2010, leaders of ASEAN countries and Japan tasked Economic Ministers to address all 
implementation issues to ensure the smooth implemen tation and maximum utilization of the AJCEP.  
At the 17th AEM-METI Consultations in August 20 11, the ministers noted the substantive outcomes 
of the negotiations on trade in services and invest ment under the AJCEP. In order to complete the 
AJCEP as a comprehensive economic partnership agreem ent, the ministers tasked senior officials to 
strive for the conclusion of these negotiations in tandem by the 18th AEM-METI Consultations or the 
15th ASEAN-Japan Summit in 2012. 
232. The Framework Agreement on Comprehens ive Economic Cooperation providing for the 
ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) was signed in November 2002.  In December 2004, ASEAN and China signed the Agreement on Trade in  Goods under ACFTA, r esulting in elimination 
of most tariffs by 2010 for ASEAN-6, and by 20 15 for ASEAN-4.  Tariffs on the normal track, 
covering approximately 90% of tota l products, have been reduced since 1 July 2005.  Furthermore, in 
January 2007 ASEAN and China signed a Framew ork Agreement on Trade in Services, which is 
GATS-consistent and goes beyond the parties' WTO commitments, and which became effective in 
July 2007.  The Protocol to Implement the S econd Package of Specific Commitments under the 
Agreement on Trade in Services is scheduled to be  signed in November 2011 and will enter into force 
on 1 January 2012.  With regard to Agreement on Investment, it was signed in August 2009 and took 
effect in February 2010. 
233. The leaders of ASEAN member countries and th e Republic of Korea agreed to sign the 
Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic  Cooperation between ASEAN and Korea with 
an aim to establish an ASEAN- Korea Free Trade Area on 13 December 2005.  The Agreement on 
Trade in Goods took effect for ASEAN member  countries (except Thailand) and Korea in 
August 2006 and for Thailand in Janua ry 2010.  The Agreement on Trade in Services and Investment 
came into force for Thailand in June and September 2009 respectively. WT/TPR/G/255 Trade Policy Review 
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 234. The leaders of ASEAN member countries and India signed the Framework Agreement on 
Comprehensive Cooperation between ASEAN and India in October 2003.   Later in August 2009, both 
sides have signed the Agreement on Trade in Goods which became effective for Thailand on 
1 January 2010.  Currently, ASEAN and India are in the process of negotiating on services and 
investment.  The ministers of both sides urged senio r officials to strive towards substantive conclusion 
of the negotiation for robust services and investment texts by the AEM-India Summit in November 2011. 
235. Agreement Establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) 
was signed on 27 February 2009 and took eff ect for Thailand on 12 March 2010.   
(ix) Financial and technical cooperation 
236. Thailand has increasingly played an active role  in providing assistance to other developing 
countries both in financial and technical coopera tion. Such cooperation is aimed at fostering 
sustainable social and economic devel opment in other developing countries. 
237. Thailand's technical cooperation, administer ed by Thailand International Development 
Cooperation Agency (TICA), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has been implemented in forms of 
development projects, scholarships, training c ourses and study visits, aiming to support other 
developing countries in reducing poverty and streng thening cooperation at regional and sub-regional 
levels to boost social and economic development.  Apart from the priority given to Thailand's 
neighbouring countries, Thailand's technical coope ration also extends to other regions including 
Africa, Latin America and Central Asia. The areas  of cooperation focus on capacity building and 
human resource development. The activities of wh ich vary from the subsistence-based to the 
commercial-based sectors as well as in fiel ds of energy and envi ronment cooperation. 
238. Examples of Thailand's technical cooperation for developing countries related to trade, 
services and investment are the Annual Internati onal Training Courses (AITC) on 'SMEs', 'Income 
Generation' and 'Micro Finance'. Other exampl es of development projects provided to other 
developing countries for trade facilitation include  FEALAC SMEs Opportunity in Thailand, ICT 
System Development for Trade and Investment a nd Taxation Database in Lao PDR., Trade in Goods 
and Services for CLMV, Enhancing Entrepreneurship  in SMEs Development and Export Consortia 
for CLMV. Art of Trade Negotiation for Lao PDR a nd Import and Export Statistics Management for 
Lao PDR. 
239. Besides, Thailand is now extending its work in  international development cooperation to the 
modality of 'partnership' or 'triangular cooperation. ' to create a synergy of technical collaboration 
between Thailand and its traditional partner countries or international organizations to help accelerate 
the third countries' efforts towa rds their achievement of MDGs and economic development.  
240. In terms of financial cooperation for deve lopment, the Neighbouring Countries Economic 
Development Cooperation Agency (NEDA) is designate d to be responsible for providing assistance 
contributed to economic developmen t cooperation with neighbouring co untries to ensure prosperity 
and betterment in the sub-region. NEDA will serve as a funding source for the neighbours in order to 
support and promote investment and trade expansion, by improving infrastructure network, including 
those projects under GMS, ACMECS and BIM STEC cooperation frameworks that focus on 
development of transportation netw orks for greater opportunities in trade, investment and tourism 
within the sub-region. Current projects include, fo r example, Chiang Rai Kunming via Lao PDR Road 
Improvement Project (R3), Railway Constructio n from Friendship Bridge (Nong Khai) to Ban Thailand WT/TPR/G/255 
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  Thanaleng, Pakse Airport Improvement Project Tr at / Koh Kong - Sre Ambel Road Improvement 
Project and Road Construction Project from Tanaosri Mountain in Thailand to Myawaddy. 
VI. FUTURE ECONOMIC AND TRADE POLICY DIRECTIONS 
241. With retrospect, the global financial and economic  crisis (2008-2010) testified to the strength 
and resilience of the Thai economy. Economic activ ity was able to continue uninterrupted and 
expanded by as much as 8 per cent in 2010, despit e various unfavourable s hocks such as volatile 
capital flows, natural disaster, and delayed economic  recovery in some advanced economies. Given 
the strong growth momentum and solid economic f undamentals, the Thai economy is expected to 
achieve a more balanced growth performance.  
242. In line with its domestic economic policy, Tha iland will also strongly support international 
trade, with the aim of ensuring sustainable economic  growth.  To charter the future course of trade 
policy direction, Thailand will maintain its steadfast  principles of supporting free and fair trade.  An 
economic liberalization policy that incorporates the gradual introduction of changes through 
progressive liberalization will continue to be the Gove rnment's core strategy.  Thailand will continue 
to promote bilateral and multilateral arrangements, to attract foreign investment and increase market 
access opportunities for Thai goods and services. 
 
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