US Ambassador Ralph Boyce and South Koreas Ambassador Han Tae-Kyu met separately with Commerce Minister Krirk-krai Jirapaet yesterday.

Krirk-krai said the US wanted to see the global trade negotiations under the Doha Development Agenda reach a successful conclusion, while South Korea wants to see members push the global trade talks toward the Doha Round's goal.

At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders summit, members agreed to issue a strongly worded statement urging for the Doha Round of multilateral talks to be wrapped up by the deadline. Negotiations have been suspended for months amid a bitter dispute between the US and European Union over farm tariffs and subsidies.

Krirk-krai quoted Boyce as saying that US businessmen and the US government had confidence in Thailand's economic and political stability. Krirk-krai said he had explained that the economy would grow smoothly after the National Legislative Assembly passes the Budget Bill on December 28, so that disbursements can begin early next year. The countries agreed that trade and investment of both nations would grow aggressively despite the suspension of their bilateral trade talks.

The US is Thailand's largest trading partner. The Kingdom enjoyed a US$9.21-billion (Bt337 billion) trade surplus with the US over the first 10 months of the year. Exports to the US grew by 16.13 per cent, while imports dropped by 0.12 per cent.

Krirk-krai said Thailand had asked the US ambassador to drop the continuous bond (C-bond) requirement for Thai shrimp and pineapple products. The ministry asked the US to return the C-bonds to Thai shrimp exporters.

Thailand has faced a 100-per-cent C-bond charge plus an anti-dumping duty of 5.79-6.82 per cent of a shipment's value.

Thailand has also called on South Korea to review its plan to cut its rice quota under WTO commitments, which is currently set at 30,000 tonnes. The quota is allowed for the protection of Korean farmers.

Krirk-krai urged South Korea to open its market fully in a bid to expand global rice trading.

Thailand asked the Korean Embassy to seek compensation for Thailand after South Korea excluded rice from the Asean-Korea free-trade agreement on grounds that it is a sensitive product. "Seoul must compensate Thailand for export losses and Thai rice will not affect its domestic market," he said.

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation