This month, the Kenan Institute Asia (K.I.Asia) began a 16-month research and communication project to assess the possible impacts in Thailand of the proposed ASEAN-European Union (EU) free trade agreement and to provide a factual basis for the public, business and government to discuss ways to mitigate any adverse impacts.
The study, entitled "Thailand-EU SME FTA Enhancement Program", is supported by the EU and key government agencies with the aim of promoting business and civil society dialogue in the areas of trade and investment. Ultimately, it is hoped that this will facilitate measures to improve trade and investment flows between the EU and Thailand.
"The project will assess the possible impact of the ASEAN-EU FTA, both positive and negative, on Thai SMEs in 10 industrial sectors," said Paul Wedel, president of K.I.Asia. "Then we will examine existing government SME assistance programs and review EU trade impact mitigation policies in order to provide policy recommendations to help reduce any negative effects and strengthen the competitiveness of affected companies."
Wedel said the research, funded with a 100,000 euro grant from the EU, includes opportunities to get feedback from academics, NGOs, government officials and the managers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Included in the program are interviews, desk research, an academic seminar in September, 2009, and a public seminar in May 2010 to gather data and present findings.
The Thailand-EU SME FTA Enhancement Program is expected to be completed in June 2010.
SME managers and others concerned who would like to seek information or provide feedback on the possible impacts of the free trade agreement can send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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