Pressure from US on reviving trade talks
The US consul-general last week called for the revival of free-trade negotiations, which have been suspended since the sixth round was held here early this year.
The US's demand to resume talks came amid the controversy over the abrupt transfer of the World Health Organisation's country representative.The removal of Dr William Aldis after only 16 months in Thailand, while the usual posting is four years or longer, followed his public comments that a free-trade agreement with the US could curtail access to lifesaving drugs by Thais. The caretaker government has been reluctant to meet again formally with the US side due to the continuing political uncertainty. Howard Rosen, executive director of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Coalition, told the same press conference that the consultations should be restarted as soon as possible as the US is negotiating with many other countries such as Malaysia, and Thailand could lose out on economic opportunities. "The FTA is like a bicycle, you either go forwards or backwards, or it just collapses," he said, adding that although he was a guest speaker of the American consul to Chiang Mai, he represented an organisation with no affiliation to the US government. "While the US is willing to show goodwill by prolonging the FTA deadline for a year or two, we need Thailand to show good faith by committing to the talks." Thailand does not necessarily have to be at a disadvantage in dealing with the US. It can demand and push for its own agenda, but there must be a dialogue in order to do so, he said. The emphasis for many people is on the "free trade" aspect, but the most important word should actually be "agreement", he said. "Agreements allow countries to have a channel to work towards a solution with a method when things are at an impasse." Surirat Treemanka, from the FTA Watch Group - a public and academic network advocating transparency in FTA talks - said the lack of transparency of the government and the talks was unacceptable. Although the sixth session is over, the public is still in the dark about the full repercussions of the agreements. "Parliament wasn't involved and the people weren't consulted, and for something which could potentially affect such large sections of society, this is just irresponsible," she said. While the talks should continue, Thailand could be overwhelmed if it went one-on-one with the superpower. Instead, countries should group together and negotiate, she added. Pim Kemasingki Citylife CHIANG MAI
|
