Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement
Encyclopedia
The Japan–Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (JTEPA) is a free-trade agreement between Thailand
and Japan
. The agreement was a deal that would eliminate tariffs on more than 90 per cent of bilateral trade within 10 years. It was signed on April 3, 2007 in Tokyo
, Japan
by the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzō Abe
and the visiting Prime Minister of Thailand, Surayud Chulanont
.
Thailand will immediately remove the tariffs on half of all Japanese steel imports. The remainder will be duty-free by 2017.
Over the next few years, Thailand will remove the tariffs on Japanese fruits such as apples, pears and yams.
By 2011, Thailand will immediately reduce the tariffs on Japanese automobiles with an engine displacement of 3000 cc or larger to 60 percent from 80 percent. The two countries will hold talks again in 2009 on total tariff elimination for those vehicles in mid-2010s.
By 2012, Japanese auto parts except five will become duty-free. The remaining five will become duty-free in over the next 7 years. Japan will also reduce the tariff on Thai boneless chicken to 8.5 percent down from the current 11.9 percent and on cooked chicken to 3 percent down from 6 percent.
By 2017, approximately 92 percent of tariffs on imports from Thailand to Japan and 97 percent of tariffs on imports from Japan to Thailand will become duty-free.
Japan will allow more Thai cooks to work in Japan by reducing the required minimum work experience of 10 years to 5 years.
The agreement did not cover sensitive agricultural products of Japan such as rice, wheat and dairy products. The agreement also did not cover demerit goods such as tobacco.
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The agreement was a deal that would eliminate tariffs on more than 90 per cent of bilateral trade within 10 years. It was signed on April 3, 2007 in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
by the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzō Abe
Shinzo Abe
was the 90th Prime Minister of Japan, elected by a special session of the National Diet on 26 September 2006. He was Japan's youngest post–World War II prime minister and the first born after the war. Abe served as prime minister for nearly twelve months, before resigning on 12 September 2007...
and the visiting Prime Minister of Thailand, Surayud Chulanont
Surayud Chulanont
General Surayud Chulanont is a Thai political figure. He was the Prime Minister of Thailand and head of Thailand's Interim Government between 2006 and 2008...
.
Agreement Details
Japan will immediately remove the tariffs on almost all industrial products from Thailand. Japan will also immediately remove the tariffs on processed shrimps and tropical fruits such as mango and papaya from Thailand.Thailand will immediately remove the tariffs on half of all Japanese steel imports. The remainder will be duty-free by 2017.
Over the next few years, Thailand will remove the tariffs on Japanese fruits such as apples, pears and yams.
By 2011, Thailand will immediately reduce the tariffs on Japanese automobiles with an engine displacement of 3000 cc or larger to 60 percent from 80 percent. The two countries will hold talks again in 2009 on total tariff elimination for those vehicles in mid-2010s.
By 2012, Japanese auto parts except five will become duty-free. The remaining five will become duty-free in over the next 7 years. Japan will also reduce the tariff on Thai boneless chicken to 8.5 percent down from the current 11.9 percent and on cooked chicken to 3 percent down from 6 percent.
By 2017, approximately 92 percent of tariffs on imports from Thailand to Japan and 97 percent of tariffs on imports from Japan to Thailand will become duty-free.
Japan will allow more Thai cooks to work in Japan by reducing the required minimum work experience of 10 years to 5 years.
The agreement did not cover sensitive agricultural products of Japan such as rice, wheat and dairy products. The agreement also did not cover demerit goods such as tobacco.