Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement

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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 3rd, 2007 in Tokyo, Japan by the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe and the visiting Prime Minister of Thailand, Surayud Chulanont.

[edit] 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.