Talks revived in Turkey as officials meet
ANKARA: Thailand has begun bilateral trade negotiations with Turkey after a year’s delay, expecting to double annual trade value to beyond US$2 billion (67.2 billion baht) within the next three years.
Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn met Nihat Zeybekci, Turkey’s economic minister, to mark the start of negotiations to cut import tariffs on goods traded between the two countries.
“Initially, we aim to cut import tariffs on 100% of goods being traded between Thailand and Turkey, which would cover more than 10,000 items,” Mrs Apiradi said. “That would help facilitate and boost trade, as the current import tariffs on some items are as high as 150%.”
The trade talks will also address the reduction of trade barriers, including shortcutting the rule of origin, which is used to identify the origin country of a good and whether it deserves a lower tariff.
The trade deal will simplify sanitary and phytosanitary measures on food exports by the two countries to allow edible goods to be traded smoothly after the agreement is sealed, which is expected to occur in 2018, Mrs Apiradi said.
“After the two countries agree on all trade and tariff cutting on major goods, we will start negotiating for liberalisation of the service sector,” she said.
Turkey ranks 35th among Thailand’s trade partners. The success of the trade deal by next year is meant to coincide with the 60-year anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Trade value between Thailand and Turkey stood at $1.2 billion in 2016, with a trade surplus of $745 million for Thailand, according to the Commerce Ministry.
Annual trade value is expected to double to more than $2 billion over the next few years, Mrs Apiradi said.
Apart from slashing import tariffs, the Thai-Turkey deal is part of Thailand’s strategy to benefit from Turkey’s location as a goods distribution hub for Europe and northern Africa.
Turkey is a transcontinental country in Eurasia and western Asia, with a smaller portion on the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe.
The country’s GDP was $858 billion in 2016, good for a growth rate of 2.1%, according to the World Bank.
The bank has revised its 2017 GDP growth forecast for Turkey to 2.7% as exports improve.