However, Thailand still faces challenges from intensifying competition, especially from countries that already have FTAs with the EU, such as Vietnam and Singapore. These countries already enjoy tariff benefits and earlier access to the EU market, meaning some Thai products may face short-term disadvantages in terms of price and market share.<\/p>\n
In addition, the EU\u2019s trade measures related to the environment and sustainability are becoming stricter, which could become a constraint for Thai operators that are unable to adapt in time.<\/p>\n
To seize the opportunities and reduce the impact of these challenges, Thailand should accelerate Thai-EU FTA negotiations so that Thai goods can access the EU market on terms comparable to those of competing countries.<\/p>\n
Thailand should also raise production and sustainability standards, especially on the environment, carbon-emissions reduction and labour standards, to align with EU requirements.<\/p>\n
At the same time, Thailand should strengthen the capacity of Thai entrepreneurs, especially SMEs, so they can adapt to new forms of trade such as digital trade and environmentally friendly production.<\/p>\n
The country should also develop infrastructure and logistics systems to support supply-chain connectivity at both regional and global levels.<\/p>\n
Nantapong said that on the latest progress of Thai-EU FTA negotiations, the two sides held the eighth round of talks in February in Chiang Mai. They were able to conclude three more chapters: trade remedies; exceptions to the use of various measures under the FTA, such as exceptions to protect public health and the environment and security exceptions; and national treatment and market access for trade in goods.<\/p>\n
As a result, 11 chapters have now been concluded out of a total of 24. The next round of negotiations will be held in June 2026 in Brussels, Belgium. The Commerce Ministry aims to conclude the negotiations within 2026.<\/p>\n
Nantapong said the EU is the world\u2019s second-largest economy after the United States and has high purchasing power. Its GDP is worth more than US$21 trillion, accounting for about 18% of global GDP, while its population stands at around 450 million. GDP per capita is about US$47,000 per year, 3.2 times higher than the global average.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving an FTA with the EU will help Thai goods enter this market at lower or zero tariffs, increase competitiveness and create new trade and investment opportunities. The Thai-EU FTA is therefore an important strategic mechanism for driving Thailand\u2019s economy in the long term. It will not only help expand export markets, but also attract foreign investment, increase employment and elevate Thailand\u2019s role in global production supply chains, leading to stable and sustainable economic growth in the future,\u201d Nantapong said.<\/p>\n
The EU is Thailand\u2019s fourth-largest trading partner after China, the United States and Japan. In the first quarter of 2026, total trade between Thailand and the EU was valued at US$12.22328 billion, up 13.55% from the same quarter of 2025.<\/p>\n
Thailand exported US$7.67191 billion worth of goods to the EU, up 20.14%, and imported US$4.55137 billion, up 3.93%. This gave Thailand a trade surplus of US$3.12054 billion.<\/p>\n
Key export products included computers, equipment and parts; gems and jewellery; air conditioners and parts; rubber products; and transformers and parts.<\/p>\n
Key imports included machinery and parts, medical and pharmaceutical products, electrical machinery and parts, chemicals, and printed circuit boards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"However, Thailand still faces challenges from intensifying competition, especially from countries that already have FTAs with the EU,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[2894,18,10515,125,250,1390,785,10742],"class_list":["post-16429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brussels","tag-breaking-news","tag-brussels","tag-commerce-ministry","tag-european-union","tag-exports","tag-free-trade-agreement","tag-investment","tag-the-trade-policy-and-strategy-office-tspo"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@be\/116605684561923490","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}