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US deal rankles with
Thais
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK - If critics of the
Thai government's international trade policies
have their way, the current negotiations for a
free-trade agreement (FTA) between Bangkok and
Washington could evolve into a constitutional
crisis for this Southeast Asian nation.
Signs of such a political fallout
emerged by the end of the third round of talks
between Thai and US trade delegates, held last
week in the popular resort town of Pattaya. Of
particular worry is a signature campaign launched
by critics to force the Thai government to have
parliament and the public review the contents of
the Thai-US FTA. This campaign, led by a group
called FTA Watch, aims to collect at least 50,000
signatures.
"This campaign is just
the starting point to challenge the
constitutionality of the FTA negotiations," said
Witoon Lianchumroon, a coordinator of the protest
group, which has some 30 organizations encompassing
grassroots activists to academics. "We will
pressure the prime minister and ministers of
commerce, public health and agriculture to make
the FTA negotiations transparent."
What riles activists such as Witoon is that the FTA
negotiations are shrouded in secrecy. "Communities
that will be affected in Thailand if the FTA is
signed are not aware of what is going on, like
corn and soy farmers," he argued. It is a
sentiment shared by members of the opposition
Democrat Party, since the contents of this FTA and
the trade-offs Bangkok has in mind with Washington
have been kept secret from the 500-member
legislature.
"We have not been informed
about any details, nor is the government planning
to do so in the future," said Kalya Sophonpanich,
a second-term Democrat Party parliamentarian.
"This lack of discussion and parliamentary review
could affect not only the current generation of
Thais but also those in the future," he said.
According to Kalya, the government of Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is violating a
provision in the country's 1997 constitution by
keeping the trade negotiations beyond the grasp of
the parliament.
Under Section 224 of the
constitution, the government needs parliamentary
approval before signing international agreements
that affect the laws of Thailand's sovereignty.
FTA Watch is placing its faith in another
constitutional provision as it seeks the
signatures. Under that provision, which
underscores the need for greater public
participation in the country's political life, a
minimum of 50,000 signatures is needed to sponsor
a bill initiated by the public for parliamentary
approval.
The Thaksin administration,
however, views this dispute differently, having
declared that the FTA will not affect laws
protecting the country's sovereignty. Therefore,
it said, parliamentary review is not relevant.
Thailand asserted that position when it began free
trade talks with China, Australia and New Zealand
previously. "Those FTAs were approved by executive
decree and not by parliament," said Sunai Phasuk,
Thailand researcher for Human Rights Watch.
Such a lack of transparency resulted in a
bitter harvest for vegetable growers in northern
Thailand. Cheaper Chinese agriculture products
flooded the local market last winter as a result
of the Thai-Chinese FTA, leaving local growers
with produce, including onions and garlic, which
could not be sold. The call for transparency in
the Thai-US FTA negotiations, which began two
years ago, arises from concern over possible deals
that could undermine Thailand's success at
supplying cheap generic drugs, especially those
relating to AIDS.
According to FTA critics,
Washington is lobbying to enforce a 25-year
period for drug patents as part of the trade
deal with Bangkok, as opposed to the 20-year period
under the prevailing international trade rules.
US trade negotiators also want to restrict the
use of "compulsory licensing", a provision by which
governments can break the laws protecting patented
drugs in order to produce cheaper generic versions
to meet public health crises, such as AIDS. This Southeast
Asian country has more than 600,000 people living with
the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) out of a 64
million population. More than 300,000 people have died because
of AIDS since the killer virus was first detected
here in the early 1980s.
Concern has
also been expressed over agriculture products such
as corn and soy, which are among the 20 items on
the FTA agenda. "The US wants Thailand to open up
its market for corn and soy. This would destroy
the local farmers because US products are
heavily subsidized and cheaper," said Witoon. Thailand
is estimated to have 3 million farmers who grow
corn in the northern and the central zones of the
country. "This FTA will undermine Thailand's food
security, for we will have no control of the structure
of our food supply chain," said Jaroen
Compeerapap, an international property-rights expert at
Silpakorn University. "It will mark the end of
Thailand's sustainable agriculture efforts."
Currently, the United States heads the list
of Thailand's trading partners, while Thailand
ranks as the 18th-largest partner of the US. The value
of their two-way trade exceeded US$21 billion in
2003, with Thailand enjoying the edge over the
two. In 2004, the total value of trade between the
two rose to $22 billion.
Shortly after the third round
of talks ended, the US Embassy in Thailand
released a statement that conveyed Washington's
optimism about the negotiations. Thailand stood to
gain greater access to the US market than at
present, the statement noted. For his part, Nitya
Pibulsongram, Thailand's chief negotiator, has
told the Thai media that Bangkok would not cave in
to Washington's demand. Yet such words have failed
to convince those amassing against the FTA, given
the lack of information percolating to the Thai
public about the trade details under
review.
(Inter Press
Service) |
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