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India, Thailand to negotiate new round of tariff cuts

BANGKOK — Thailand is ready to forge ahead in new negotiations with India for a tariff reduction across many product items under the Thailand-India Free Trade Area framework.

Trade Negotiations Department director-general Chutima Bunyaprapasara said the negotiation teams of both countries are scheduled to meet in Phuket later this month to discuss in detail the entry of more than 5,500 products on a list of goods tariffs of which are to be done away with under the Thailand-India FTA, the Thai News Agency reported yesterday. Last year, Thailand and India had mutual trade value of around $3.4 billion.

Bunyaprapasara said she believed the mutual trade would rise further if both countries agree on tariff reduction to zero in thousands of production items. Thailand's key exports to India include plastic pellets, radios, TVs and accessories, steel and iron products and automobile accessories, while Thailand imports diamonds and jewellery, silver ingots, gold, ore, metal and chemical products.Thailand and India signed a free trade agreement in 2003 under which the import tariffs for 82 products reduced, beginning in September 2004.