Thailand to seek talks with US on trade privileges loss

Thailand plans to seek talks with the United States on a decision to end preferential trade privileges on a range of Thai exports including seafood, officials said Monday.

Keerati Rushchano, acting director-general of the Commerce Ministry's Foreign Trade Department, said his office has been warning exporters that the US might withdraw the duty-free status for some products and had been advised by the US to expect it.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative announced Friday it was suspending USD 1.3 billion in trade preferences for Thailand under the Generalized System of Preferences, or GSP, because of its failure to adequately protect worker rights.

Keerati said Thailand will try to negotiate the issue before it takes effect in April, as did Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha in separate remarks Monday.

The US Trade Representative's announcement said the GSP eligibility was open to periodic review.

Thailand has faced complaints for years over labour issues, particularly in its fisheries industry.

"Despite six years of engagement, Thailand has yet to take steps to provide internationally recognised worker rights in a number of important areas identified in a 2015 petition from the American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organisations (AFL-CIO), such as providing protections for freedom of association and collective bargaining," said the US announcement.

It said the list of products to be excluded from GSP focused on those "for which the United States is a relatively important market for Thailand, but where Thailand accounts for a relatively small share of US imports" and "due to longstanding worker rights issues in the seafood and shipping industries, GSP eligibility will be revoked for all seafood products from Thailand."
A statement from the US Embassy, addressing concerns that reasons besides labour rights were behind the GSP move, noted that the GSP review of worker rights had been under way for six years."