Thailand Getting Prepared for Greater Competition from Trade Liberalization

(26/11/2012)

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has urged the Ministry of Commerce to work closely with the private sector in preparation for greater competition that will be brought about by trade liberalization in the region. Speaking in the program “Yingluck Government Meets the People,” broadcast on Radio Thailand and NBT Television on 24 November 2012, the Prime Minister stressed the need for Thailand to adjust itself to a larger market, not only in ASEAN but also elsewhere. In the face of this situation, she said, Thai products must be diverse and offer more options to customers, which would make them competitive. New technology and techniques should be introduced to help in production. Although Thailand has trade contacts with ASEAN, it must also start to see ASEAN as a single market, which will expand trade relations with other markets, such as China, the United States, and Australia. Prime Minister Yingluck pointed out that, as a result of free trade, Thailand’s trade value was on the increase and that trade liberalization came with trade competition. To enable Thailand to compete effectively, the country must work out rules and regulations for carrying out its international trade. At the same time, she said, Thailand needs to compete with itself and improve its trade negotiations based on the maximum benefit of the country. For this reason, the Government must work with the private sector, as the country would face tougher competition in a larger market. The Prime Minister explained that the objective of bringing business people to join her overseas trips was to increase Thailand’s trade and investment with various countries. She said that the Government wanted to encourage foreign investors to invest more in Thailand and to increase Thai exports. Prime Minister Yingluck stated that, because of economic uncertainties in all parts of the world, many countries are eying ASEAN and the Asian region, which are large markets with a great number of people. Because Thailand wants to increase its income, it needs to seek new and larger markets and create confidence in trading and investing in Thailand. For instance, she said, Thailand would no longer trade in a country with only 60 million people, but would trade in ASEAN, with a population of 600 million. This means that the country will have a larger market. Therefore, ASEAN countries would have to set trade rules and regulations jointly, as it is moving toward a single community in 2015. As for the Thai government, the Prime Minister said that it must prepare infrastructure in response to the vision of connectivity. At the same time, research and development should be undertaken to make Thai products, especially those under the “One Tambon One Product” program, to be unique and more outstanding than products from other places, in order to satisfy local and foreign customers. The public sector must, therefore, join hands with other sectors in preparing for the changing situation.