Suphajee Pushes to Close Thailand-EU FTA Deal, Aiming to Lift GDP Growth Above 3%
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Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun said after the 2/2026 meeting of the working group driving the Thailand-European Union free trade agreement negotiations that Thailand and the EU have now reached agreement on roughly two-thirds of all chapters, with about one-third remaining. The 10th round of negotiations is scheduled for September 28 in Phuket province and will take about one week, with the goal of closing all remaining chapters before moving into the legal scrubbing and text alignment process. Once the draft agreement is finalized and signed, it will be submitted for Cabinet approval and then to Parliament, a process expected to take about one year. Suphajee said that if the negotiations succeed, the economic benefits will be substantial. A study by the Institute of Future Studies for Development indicates that Thai gross domestic product would rise by 1.28% from its current level of just over 2%, helping GDP expand by more than 3% per year, while exports would increase by 2.8%. Opening the EU market will also boost competitiveness, reduce reliance on existing markets and bring greater balance to Thai trade. It is also a key factor in attracting foreign direct investment from the United States, China and Japan to set up production bases in Thailand in order to benefit from tax privileges when exporting to the EU. On sensitive goods, Suphajee said the principles agreed with the EU in the ninth round will still be upheld, with both sides setting a framework to exclude them from the talks, while items that can be opened up and bring mutual benefit will be liberalized first.