July 29, 2005

EU tariff on Thai shrimp may be reduced earlier

The EU hoped to reduce its tariff on Thai shrimp earlier under the Generalised System of Preference (GSP), even though the plan was to do it in January 2006, the UK government said.

The UK government also said it would support the GSP.

Earlier this year, the Thai government had said that Thai exporters might have to slow down trade with the EU if the EU did not provide them special tax privileges.

Trade between Thailand and the UK have become increasingly important. The UK is Thailand's largest European market for its exports and the second largest EU supplier of Thai imports.

In 2004, UK exports to Thailand grew by over 11 percent from 2003.