Posted on 08 Aug 2008
Thai trade with India could double after ASEAN deal
A top Thai trade official said Friday that a just-concluded
trade deal among Southeast Asian nations and India could more than double the
volume of trade between the kingdom and the South Asian giant.
Surin Pitsuwan, secretary general of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said Thursday that the final obstacles to the
deal had been cleared.
The pact is expected to be signed in December at a regional
summit in Bangkok.
Thailand signed
a bilateral deal with India
four years ago, covering 82 products.
Before the deal, bilateral trade stood at US$1 billion a
year, but now has jumped to US$4 billion a year, said Chana Kanaratanadilok,
deputy director of Thailand's
department of trade negotiations.
"Free trade between ASEAN and India will make
a huge impact. Two-way trade between our country and India could average about US$10
billion a year," Chana told AFP.
He said one of the main stumbling blocks in the regional
trade talks was India's
insistence that Thailand
reduce tariffs on copper, steel and textiles - which the kingdom finally agreed
to do.
Although the ASEAN-India deal does not cover services, Chana
estimated that the final document could include up to 5,000 goods.
Thailand
has been keen to boost its economic ties with India, actively cultivating
increased trade and tourism.
Trade with India
stands at just about one-eighth of Thailand's
trade with China.
But Thailand
believes India could
eventually provide a balance to China's
growing economic might.
