August 1, 2005

Japan to cut taxes on Thai chicken and shrimp

Japan and Thailand have reached a basic accord on a Free Trade Agreement, which will cut taxes on items such chicken and shrimps and reduce tariffs on about US$35 billion worth of trade between the two countries.

This announcement was made on Aug 1 by Thai Foreign Ministry's chief negotiator and deputy permanent secretary, Pisan Manawapat.

Last year, the Japanese market bought US$13.5 billion worth of Thai products and is the latter's second-biggest export market after the US. Thailand, on the other hand, bought US$22.4 billion of Japanese products in the same period and is the latter's single biggest trading partner.

In this agreement, Japan will cut tariffs on Thai products such as poultry, canned foods and jewellery imports, while Thailand will cut tariffs first and foremost on car imports, Japan's trade minister Shoichi Nakagawa revealed.

If all goes well, the two countries will sign in April 2006 a trade accord, which will take effect in September 2006.