FTA imperils public interest

EDITORIAL

Published: 1 Feb 2013 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

Should the country sacrifice long-term public health interests and sovereign rights to issue public interest laws and regulations for the short-term monetary gains of big business?

This is the question the Commerce Ministry must ponder when negotiating Thailand's bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU). Now that parliament has approved the draft framework of the Thai-EU FTA, all eyes are now on the ministry as to how it will protect the national interest amid concerns raised by public health authorities and civic groups that big business interests will prevail over the common good.

The Thai-EU FTA is a comprehensive free trade package which will have significant impacts on drug prices, farming costs and the government's sovereign right to issue public interest policies. Yet the Department of Trade Negotiations (DTN) decided to keep its draft framework a secret. It was under this secrecy that the Thai-EU FTA draft framework was sent to parliament in December last year.

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watchdog
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Discussion 3 : 01 Feb 2013 at 17.173
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No comment on the other criticisms of the proposed FTA, but this one is totally out of line with current accepted international practices: "That's not all. The EU FTA also pushes for an investor-state dispute system whereby foreign investors can sue governments for issuing public interest laws". There are several thousand such agreements around the world that provide such benefits to investors. They have been the norm for quite some time, and Thailand needs to accept this. For example, NAFTA provides precisely the same rights, and I don't see NAFTA going away soon. There is nothing particularly onerous or unusual about this provision.
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rebel4ever
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Discussion 2 : 01 Feb 2013 at 14.252
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Does the Thai_EU FTA include the prohibition of dual pricing for foreigners, the right to buy Thai land for foreigners, abolishing the 90 days presentation, the right to get a longer than 1 year visa for retired non-immigrants..and so on? Otherwise if I were the EU, I would not sign.
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tomb
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Discussion 1 : 01 Feb 2013 at 07.491
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Seems like the writer believes Thailand should get all the benefits of GPS or FTAs, but none of the responsibilities.
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FTA imperils public interest | Bangkok Post: opinion