Thailand

Negotiations for an EU-Thailand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) were launched in March 2013 and put on hold in 2014 following the military take-over in the country. Following the Council Conclusions of 2019, the EU took steps towards broadening its engagement with Thailand, including towards the resumption of negotiations on a comprehensive FTA.

The EU and Thailand announced the relaunch of negotiations for an FTA in March 2023.

Thailand has been a member of the WTO since the latter's creation in 1995.

Trade picture

• The EU is Thailand’s fourth-largest trading partner, accounting for 7.1% of the country’s trade in goods in 2024. Thailand is the EU’s 28^th largest trading partner, accounting for 0.8% of total trade in goods. In 2024, bilateral trade in goods amounted to €42 billion. In 2024, the EU imported goods worth €27.4 billion from Thailand. The key imports were machinery and appliances. In 2024, the EU exports to Thailand amounted to €14.6 billion, consisting mainly of machinery and appliances, chemicals, base metals, and transport equipment. 
• Two-way trade in services between the EU and Thailand amounted to €13.4 billion in 2023 (with a surplus for the EU of €1.1 billion). 
• Thailand is one of the most important destinations for European investment within ASEAN, with €24.9 billion of outward foreign direct investment (FDI) stocks in 2023. The EU is the second-largest investor in Thailand after Japan. The stock of Thailand’s FDI in the EU in 2023 was €5.6 billion. 

The EU and Thailand

Thailand and the EU have negotiated a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), which provides a comprehensive framework for EU-Thailand relations and will open up wide opportunities to develop cooperation. The overall EU approach to bilateral relations with Thailand is set in the Council Conclusions of 2019. The PCA was signed in December 2022.

EU-Thailand trade negotiations 

In March 2023, the EU and Thailand announced the relaunch of negotiations for a free trade agreement.

Thailand and ASEAN

Thailand is one of the 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the second-largest economy in the region in terms of GDP (14%) and the EU’s fourth-largest trading partner in ASEAN.

Thailand is part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

More information on ASEAN

Trading with Thailand

• Importing into the EU from Thailand
  • EU trade defence measures on imports from Thailand
• Exporting from the EU to Thailand
  • Trade defence measures in force in Thailand
• Trade relations are part of the EU's overall political and economic relations with Thailand
• Thailand is a member of the World Trade Organization