The Joint Committee on Commerce has approved urgent solutions for 15 key issues to boost Thailand's trade and exports, with the private sector ready to cooperate.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce Jurin Laksanawisit revealed after chairing the second meeting of the Joint Committee on Commerce (JCC) for 2020, which includes representatives from the Thai National Shippers' Council (TNSC), the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Thai Industries, and the Thai Bankers' Association, that the meeting agreed to collaboratively address and find solutions to enhance Thailand's exports in 15 critical areas affected by the economic impact of COVID-19. He expressed confidence that this cooperation would improve Thai trade and exports, especially as export trends have shown improvement, despite the annual export figures being projected to decline by 7%.

The strategies for addressing issues and promoting Thai exports in the 15 main areas are as follows:

1. Accelerating the delivery of Thai rice to China after signing an agreement to export 1 million tons, with 700,000 tons already delivered and 300,000 tons currently under negotiation for delivery. 2. Accelerating the export of cars to Vietnam after facing issues with vehicle inspections, which caused delays. A solution has been reached through an agreement among 10 ASEAN countries for the quality inspection of exported vehicles, which will expedite exports.

3. Addressing issues related to the export of Thai products, particularly in the chemical and fertilizer sectors, as India has set new export standards effective early 2021, urging the Department of International Trade Negotiations to resolve this matter. 4. Exporting new cars has faced delays due to the lack of vehicle registration, and the Department of Foreign Trade has been assigned to discuss solutions with relevant agencies.

5. Promoting Thai products as COVID-19 free in multiple languages to instill confidence in importers, following agreements from four key ministries certifying the quality of Thai products. 6. Accelerating negotiations to resolve logistics issues. 7. Addressing issues related to the Thai baht.

8. Resolving issues related to the export of Thai sugar to Vietnam, which has led to accusations of sugar dumping. 9. Promoting SME operators to access funding sources by coordinating with the Export-Import Bank of Thailand (EXIM Bank) to increase collateral options for loans. 10. Accelerating the opening of key border checkpoints, especially the Thailand-Laos and Thailand-Cambodia borders. 11. Accelerating the connection of special economic zones among three countries: Thailand, Laos, and China to foster trade and export cooperation.

12. Developing and promoting logistics operators for cross-border exports, facilitating the certification of the country of origin (CO) due to delays. 13. Accelerating international trade negotiations, particularly for Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) such as the FTA between Thailand and the European Union, Thailand and the UK, Thailand and the Eurasian Economic Union, and Thailand and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). 14. Promoting the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). 15. Promoting the establishment of an FTA fund for those affected.

Mr. Suphan Montree, President of the Federation of Thai Industries stated that the discussions in this JCC meeting are expected to be a crucial guideline for all government and private sector agencies to find solutions to the problems arising from the impacts and will assist the private sector in pushing exports and reducing incurred costs.

Regarding the export outlook for the entire year of 2020, the meeting projected that Thailand's exports would decline by 10-12% at the beginning of the year, continuously adjusting the estimate down to a decline of 8-10%. With the improving situation and the proposed solutions for export issues, it is believed that the annual exports will be lower than previously estimated, especially as the figures for car exports have shown improvement.

Mr. Sanan Angubolkul, Vice Chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce stated that the Thai Chamber of Commerce anticipates that Thailand's exports for the entire year of 2020 will decline by 6.5% as various situations improve, positively impacting the export sector. Additionally, it is estimated that exports in the fourth quarter of 2020 will show positive trends, leading to the belief that exports in the first quarter of 2021 will not decline significantly.