Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05BANGKOK5271
2005-08-17 03:45:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Bangkok
Cable title:  

AMBASSADOR'S FTA MEETING WITH DEPUTY PM

Tags:  ECON ETRD EFIN TH US FTA 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS BANGKOK 005271 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV AND EB
USTR FOR WEISEL AND COEN
TREASURY FOR OASIA
COMMERCE FOR 4430/EAP/MAC/KSA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ETRD EFIN TH US FTA
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S FTA MEETING WITH DEPUTY PM

UNCLAS BANGKOK 005271

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV AND EB
USTR FOR WEISEL AND COEN
TREASURY FOR OASIA
COMMERCE FOR 4430/EAP/MAC/KSA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ETRD EFIN TH US FTA
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S FTA MEETING WITH DEPUTY PM


1. (SBU) On August 16, Ambassador Boyce called on Deputy
Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Somkid Jatusripitak to
express USG concerns about the slow pace of FTA negotiations,
explain that an FTA with the U.S. must be a single
undertaking (the Thai-Japan FTA model is not an option for
us),the necessity of structuring the FTA on a positive list
basis, and the express requirement in Trade Promotion
Authority for an FTA labor chapter.


2. (SBU) Somkid replied that now that the Thai-Japan FTA
talks "are finished", he would devote his attention to RTG
talks with the U.S. and had already scheduled a meeting of
his team for next week to discuss ways of accelerating the
pace of negotiations. He did not directly respond to the
Ambassador's specific points, but pointed out that he and his
staff present in the room had all spent a lot of time in the
U.S.: "you know us and we know you; both of us need to
understand each other." Regarding the negative vs. positive
list issue, Somkid intimated that perhaps some sort of
compromise formula could be found.


3. (SBU) Comment. For the first time Somkid indicated that he
would fully engage in our FTA "now that I have time," and
insisted it was important to his government to complete these
negotiations. We suspect that his active participation in the
ultimately successful (from the RTG viewpoint) talks with
Japan may have encouraged him to play a more active role.
Others have told us that one of the reason's he was moved
from the Finance Ministry in the recent government reshuffle
was to make him more directly responsible for FTA matters. We
believe that we should quietly work with him on issues that
prove too difficult for the Thai negotiators and test his
stated inclination to engage and solve problems.
BOYCE