They say it will hinder trade and investment between the two countries.

Tetsuji Bunno, president of the Japan Chamber of Commerce Bangkok, and Yoichi Kato, chairman of Jetro met with Commerce Minister Krirk-krai Jirapaet yesterday to ask for more confidence to implement the bilateral trade agreement.

The JTEPA agreement has been hanging in limbo for six to seven months.

Leaders of the two nations have yet to sign the accord, despite agreeing originally to sign the pact in April. But the JTEPA ended up being postponed because of the political uncertainty.

The Japanese executives asked Krirk-krai about the possibility of the agreement being signed now a new government has been appointed. They also feared a more stringent trade stance by Thailand would reduce exports from Japan.

But Krirk-krai explained that even without the free-trade deal, Thailand still facilitates trade with all foreign businesses. He noted trade and investment between the two countries should not drop because the Kingdom was still a good environment in which to do business.

"The government will step forward on free-trade policy. However, we cannot commit an exact time or whether it's possible to sign the JTEPA. The government will not rush to conclude any free-trade agreements until a study of the final results comes out and shows the real benefits to the country," he said.

The government would conclude the international trade pact after consulting the National Legislative Assembly (NLA).

But there had been no time-frame for talks with any trading partners. The government wanted to focus on identifying benefits to the countries and any impacts on related industries.

The Japanese businessmen also asked the ministry to review the government's stringent price controls and the Foreign Business Act.

They were particularly concerned that "unclear in details of the law will confuse Japanese investors".

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation