Immediate impact of new 2010 FTAs on Thailand?
By Jon Fernquest
Thai
economists are still weighing
the impact
of all the FTAs that Thailand and other ASEAN states entered into
officially at the beginning of this year. Today's article argues that the impact of these FTAs will be minimal.
However, anti-dumping measures might be taken by big ASEAN trading partners such as China, South Korea and India on Thai exports of tobacco, liquor and textiles.
The impact of the new AFTA free trade agreement on Thailand in 2010 has been discussed in an earlier Bangkok Post article (Read article).
The impact of the agreement on Thailand's palm oil industry has also been assessed (Read article)
The signing of FTAs at last year's ASEAN summit also offered extensive analysis (Read article)
There is also the possibility that the AFTA FTA may spur rice smuggling from Thailand's poorer neighbors (Read article).
Today's article in full follows the vocabulary:
impact - the effect
of an event
immediate impact - the effect that happens right after some event happens
weigh the impact, assess impact - try to guess or estimate what the effect will be in the future
minimal impact - will not have a big effect
dumping - unfair pricing of export goods, when a manufacturer exports a product to another country at a price which is below its costs of production or below the price it charges in its home market (See Wikipedia)
antidumping, antidumping measures - actions taken by a government to stop (what it thinks is) dumping from another country
AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area) - a trade agreement by the countries in ASEAN to reduce and end tariffs within ASEAN (SeeWikipedia)
analysis - carefully studying something to better understand it
extensive analysis - carefully study all aspects in great detail
spur - cause
smuggling - bringing goods into a country illegally
immediate impact - the effect that happens right after some event happens
weigh the impact, assess impact - try to guess or estimate what the effect will be in the future
minimal impact - will not have a big effect
dumping - unfair pricing of export goods, when a manufacturer exports a product to another country at a price which is below its costs of production or below the price it charges in its home market (See Wikipedia)
antidumping, antidumping measures - actions taken by a government to stop (what it thinks is) dumping from another country
AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area) - a trade agreement by the countries in ASEAN to reduce and end tariffs within ASEAN (SeeWikipedia)
analysis - carefully studying something to better understand it
extensive analysis - carefully study all aspects in great detail
spur - cause
smuggling - bringing goods into a country illegally
Economics
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
FTAs to have minor impact
26/01/2010Somruedi Banchongduang
Thailand will not gain much from free trade agreements because of minimal exports between the agreeing parties, says Sethaput Suthiwart-narueput, an executive vice-president of Siam Commercial Bank
The benefits from FTAs taking effect this year are insignificant, particularly for the country's exports, said Dr Sethaput, also chief economist of the SCB Economic Intelligence Center
Free
Trade Agreement (FTA) - an
agreement between a group of countries to eliminate
many tariffs, quotas and preferences on goods passing between them (See Wikipedia)
minor - not important; small; having little influence or effect เล็กน้อย
impact - an effect or influence ผลกระทบ
minimal - very small in amount น้อยที่สุด, น้อยมาก
insignificant - not large or important enough to be worth considering foil
particularly - especially, or more than usual โดยเฉพาะ
exports - goods sold by a country to other countries
minor - not important; small; having little influence or effect เล็กน้อย
impact - an effect or influence ผลกระทบ
minimal - very small in amount น้อยที่สุด, น้อยมาก
insignificant - not large or important enough to be worth considering foil
particularly - especially, or more than usual โดยเฉพาะ
exports - goods sold by a country to other countries
About 56% of all types of export goods will receive the common effective preferential tariff (CEPT) rate of zero under the FTAs. But Thailand only exports a narrow range of CEPT goods to counter-parties, equivalent to 8% of export goods to the countries or 2% of Thailand's total supply.
The tariff rate decreased by 1.2% in 2010 compared with a drop of 3.8% the year before.
The FTAs should negatively impact the industries of tobacco, liquor, textiles excluding clothing, electrical goods, coffee and tea. Such industries will face dumping measures from counter-parties, particularly China, South Korea and India. But those sectors are marginal contributors to the country's economy, said Dr Sethaput.
common
- done or shared by two or more people ที่ร่วมกัน
effective - actual (not just appearance or in theory)
preferential - treating some people better than other people
tariff - a tax on imports coming into a country
import - to buy or bring in products from another country นำเข้า
common effective preferential tariff (CEPT) - the low 0 to 5% tariff that all ASEAN countries must limit themselves to on goods traded within Afta (See Wikipedia)
narrow - not wide; having a small distance from one side to the other, especially in comparison with the length แคบ
narrow range - a small number
counter-parties - the people or companies that a company does business deals with
equivalent - the same as เท่าเทียมกันกับ
measures - actions that are intended to achieve or deal with something มาตราการ
effective - actual (not just appearance or in theory)
preferential - treating some people better than other people
tariff - a tax on imports coming into a country
import - to buy or bring in products from another country นำเข้า
common effective preferential tariff (CEPT) - the low 0 to 5% tariff that all ASEAN countries must limit themselves to on goods traded within Afta (See Wikipedia)
narrow - not wide; having a small distance from one side to the other, especially in comparison with the length แคบ
narrow range - a small number
counter-parties - the people or companies that a company does business deals with
equivalent - the same as เท่าเทียมกันกับ
measures - actions that are intended to achieve or deal with something มาตราการ
Several business sectors will benefit from the FTAs due to lower raw material import costs and the wide spread between the existing tax rate and the new rate under the agreements.
The FTAs should provide greater opportunities for rubber products exported to China, tyres exported to Malaysia and Indonesia, and jewellery and rice.
Though the Asean Free Trade Area agreement from 2003 led to zero-rate tariffs among several Asian countries, trade among those countries did not change significantly, he said
benefit
- to get help or an advantage from something ผลประโยชน์
due to - because of
raw material - the basic materials like metal, wood and plastic used to manufacture goods
import - to buy or bring in products from another country นำเข้า
wide spread - big difference between two amounts
provide - to give someone something that they want or need
opportunities - situations where you can actually do what you want to do (here: run a successful business and make money)
significantly - in an important way อย่างสำคัญ
due to - because of
raw material - the basic materials like metal, wood and plastic used to manufacture goods
import - to buy or bring in products from another country นำเข้า
wide spread - big difference between two amounts
provide - to give someone something that they want or need
opportunities - situations where you can actually do what you want to do (here: run a successful business and make money)
significantly - in an important way อย่างสำคัญ
In 2008, Thailand's exports to the region were 22.6% of total volume, while imports were 16.6% of the total. In 1998, Thai exports to Asian countries were 18.2%, while imports were 15.1
Dr Sethaput said Thai export growth would improve to 15% this year mainly due to the global economic recovery rather than the benefits of FTAs.
The SCB Economic Intelligence Center projects Thai economic growth of 3.5% to 4.5% this year, mainly driven by government investment.
improve
- to get better ดีขึ้น
global - throughout the world ทั่วโลก
recovery - the process of becoming normal and healthy again ฟื้นฟูสภาพ
projects - says what it thinks will happen in the future
global - throughout the world ทั่วโลก
recovery - the process of becoming normal and healthy again ฟื้นฟูสภาพ
projects - says what it thinks will happen in the future
(Source: INTERNATIONAL TRADE, FTAs to have minor impact, 26/01/2010, Somruedi Banchongduang, link)
