BANGKOK (Reuters): Thailand will take until September to study whether to join a transpacific free trade agreement, potentially missing a window for entry this year amid widespread concern that joining the pact may harm its farm and healthcare sectors.
Thailand's commerce ministry has said that joining the 11-member Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) would boost the country's economy and offset the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, while making sectors, including electronics and agriculture, more competitive against rivals like Vietnam and Malaysia, both CPTPP members.