The government will exclude alcohol and tobacco from all future bilateral freetrade talks as it aims to increase awareness over issues of public safety and hazardous substances.
The Trade Negotiations Department is studying the possibility of revising existing freetrade pacts that have already included alcohol and tobacco under the tariffreduction process.
The proposal is to allow countries to charge whatever import tariffs they see fit on the two goods in order to protect their people's health.
Firstly, the department is considering whether to exclude alcohol and tobacco from the ThailandAustralia and Thailand New Zealand freetrade agreements during talks on the soontobe revised accords.
Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot said yesterday that every country should exclude alcohol and tobacco from FTAs in order to show their moral and responsibility to the public.
"The Thai government will not obstruct normal trading, but these products should not be promoted under freetrade channels as it would increase consumption," he said.
To promote awareness in the international arena, Thailand will propose the initiative at the 42th Asean Economic Ministers Meeting in Danang, Vietnam, from August 2327.
Earlier, local alcohol producers complained that the planned Asean single market would lead to an influx of cheap products, thus threatening their local presence.
Thailand is scheduled to revise the FTAs with Australia and New Zealand this year after the Cabinet's approval yesterday of the framework for the revisions.
The framework will be submitted for parliamentary ratification next month and talks are expected to begin in September.
Under the FTA with Australia, the import tariff on wine has been cut from 54 per cent to 40 per cent since 2005. It is due to be reduced to zero in 2015.
Tariffs for beer and alcohol have been brought down from 60 per cent to 30 per cent since 2005, and are scheduled to be eliminated this year.
Alongkorn said trade partners should accept Thailand's demand to exclude alcohol and tobacco from the pacts, as such a move would demonstrate their social responsibility.
On a wider issue, Alongkorn said the government would seek Asean trade ministers' cooperation to pressure the Chinese government to eliminate nontariff barriers under the AseanChina Free Trade Agreement.
Despite zero tariffs under the FTA, exports from Asean to China are facing hurdles as China has retained its valueadded tax surcharge for importers at 1317 per cent. This is big financial burden for exporters, he said.