Japan and Thailand signed an economic partnership agreement in Tokyo Tuesday that will lift tariffs on more than 90 per cent of their bilateral trade in terms of value within 10 years of the enactment, ACCORDING TO DPA. Japan and Thailand expect to formally enact the agreement as early as this fall. Japanese leaders approved the content of the agreement Tuesday, while the Thai parliament has already endorsed the pact. The bilateral accord also includes cooperation in other fields such as education, human resources, development of science and technology, energy and environment, visiting Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said at a press conference in Tokyo Tuesday. As the two nations celebrate the 120th anniversary of their bilateral diplomacy, relations are of "the greatest strategic importance" for Thailand, Surayud said. Bilateral trade in 2006 reached nearly 42 billion dollars. While Japan, being the second largest export market for Thailand, increased exports to the South-east Asian nation by 7.5 per cent in 2006 from the previous year to 2.66 billion yen (22.60 million dollars), Japan's imports from Thailand rose 14.3 per cent to 1.96 trillion yen, according to Japanese Finance Ministry data. Under the free trade agreement (FTA), Japan plans to eliminate 92 per cent of tariffs on imports, and Thailand is to cut taxes on 97 per cent of goods from Japan. As Tokyo would immediately make all industrial products from Bangkok duty free, Thailand would lift tariffs on Japanese auto parts within five years of FTA enactment. More than 80 per cent of 600,000 vehicles that Thailand expects to export to the global market in 2007 are manufactured by Japanese automakers, the Thai prime minister said. With the trade agreement in place, Japanese companies with branches in Thailand would be able to reduce the cost of importing auto parts. While some agricultural products and seafood are also subject to the cutting of tariffs, the two governments agreed to exclude sensitive products such as rice, wheat and dairy products, according to Japanese Foreign Ministry. Besides the goods trade, Japan and Thailand plan to promote the exchange of human resources.
