Thailand and India have agreed in principle to use electronic signatures and seals for certificates of origin on products, while pushing for the use of QR codes through the linkage of India’s Unified Payments Interface system with Thailand’s PromptPay system to support tourist spending.
The trade meeting also urged more cooperation in the film production and health tourism sectors.
Thailand also requested India lift restrictions on the import of tyres and colour TVs, eliminate the ban on importing air conditioners containing refrigerants and end restrictions on imports of natural rubber and cut flowers.
According to Auramon Supthaweethum, director-general of the Department of Trade Negotiations, Thailand asked India to consider opening its market for young coconuts.
Mrs Auramon led a Thai delegation to participate in the 13th Thai-India Joint Trade Committee (JTC) meeting on April 20 in New Delhi, marking the first such meeting in 20 years. The meeting discussed trade barriers and facilitating private sector trade between the two countries.
The long delay between meetings was to focus on negotiations for the Thailand-India free trade agreement (FTA) and the Asean-India FTA.
In 2020, both sides agreed to resume JTC meetings as a mechanism to discuss trade and investment promotion, address trade obstacles and push for economic cooperation.
She said this year India, as chair of the G20, aims to promote sustainable economic growth and increase participation in the global value chain, as well as push for the use of the local currency, the Indian rupee, in international trade to increase economic value.
India’s economy is ranked fifth in the world and is projected to be third by 2030. This growth is attributed to promoting domestic consumption, increasing exports and attracting foreign investment, particularly in logistics, information technology, biotechnology, robotics, future cars and biofuels.
In 2022, two-way trade between Thailand and India amounted to US$17.7 billion, up 18.1% from the year before. Thailand exported goods worth $10.5 billion and imported goods worth $7.17 billion.
Thailand’s key exports to India include plastic pellets, vegetable and animal oils, chemicals, gems and jewellery, and iron and steel products. Key imports include gems and jewellery, silver and gold bars, machinery and parts, non-ferrous metal ores, scrap metals and chemicals. In the first two months of this year, two-way trade tallied $2.69 billion.
