US-Thai FTA
US-Thailand Free Trade Agreement
Unlike other Free Trade Agreements with smaller developing countries, Thailand presents a significant new market for US agriculture, manufacturing, and pharmaceutical companies. Because of this, the interests of companies have been placed above those of ordinary US and Thai citizens. While the negotiations for the US-Thailand FTA are currently stalled, if they resume and an agreement moves forward, it would likely contain provisions that threaten livelihoods, health, and sustainable development in Thailand.
• Agriculture. Under a US-Thai FTA, small-scale Thai corn and soybean farmers are likely to face serious and unfair competition with corn and soybeans from the US. These crops are heavily subsidized in the US, and they are likely to be dumped below the cost of production on the Thai market, undercutting local producers. Thailand is the world’s largest exporter of rice, and its jasmine rice is central to Thai culture and traditions. Yet small-scale Thai rice farmers are concerned that an FTA would make it easier for US companies to patent varieties of Thai rice and other crops, threatening Thailand’s rich biodiversity.
• Health. The rules on intellectual property in a US-Thai FTA would likely restrict the production of generic medicines, which would mean that millions of Thais who cannot afford brand-name medicines would continue to go without them. This would be especially harmful for the more than half a million people living with HIV/AIDS in Thailand, as well as many others with diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria.
• Sustainable development. Investment provisions in a US-Thai FTA would likely prevent the Thai government from regulating foreign investment so that it contributes to sustainable development. Other US FTAs have banned requirements that foreign investors use local materials and employment, which means that the Thai government cannot ensure that investments made in Thailand contribute to the local economy.