Thailand pushes EU free trade deal to reduce US reliance

BANGKOK – Thailand is racing to secure a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union as uncertainty over US tariffs pushes countries to forge new economic partnerships, according to a top trade official.

“The reason why we’re accelerating the EU FTA so much is because we want to diversify as quickly as possible,” Thai Trade Representative Werapong Prapha said in an interview in Bangkok. “Less reliance on Chinese supply chains and US supply chains.”

His comments offer one of the clearest indications yet that Thailand views an EU agreement as part of a broader strategy to navigate an increasingly fragmented global trading system shaped by geopolitical tensions and levy disputes.

Thailand is currently negotiating with US President Donald Trump’s administration over tariff measures and is hoping to secure treatment comparable with other South-east Asian economies. But Werapong said the broader lesson from recent trade tensions is the need to build alternative partnerships.

“The largest exporter has weaponised exports and the largest importer has weaponised imports,” he said, referring to escalating trade tensions among major economies. “The rest of the world has to be very adaptive.”

For Thailand, that means moving quickly to secure access to large, stable regions such as the EU, home to more than 450 million consumers versus about 340 million in the US, Thailand’s largest export market. The EU is Thailand’s fourth-largest trading partner. 

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s government is aiming to reach a conclusion on the agreement by the end of 2026. Negotiators are set to meet in Brussels later in June for a ninth round of talks. So far, Thailand and the EU have completed negotiations on 11 of 24 chapters.

“We’ve done the base camp,” Werapong said. “The final peak will be four or five issues that are going to be very challenging.”

The toughest things left to negotiate include government procurement, intellectual property, agricultural market access, manufacturing and energy, he said. Pharmaceutical patent protections and agricultural tariffs remain particularly sensitive, and Thailand will seek transition periods and support measures for sectors that could face increased competition. 

“We have six more months. Full steam ahead,” he said, while stressing that speed cannot come at the expense of national interests.

The push also reflects concerns that Thailand risks falling behind regional peers that already enjoy preferential access to Europe. Vietnam and Singapore already have trade agreements with the EU, while Indonesia reached a political agreement with the bloc in 2025. Malaysia and the Philippines are also moving towards completion.

Years of political instability have slowed Thailand’s trade agenda. Negotiations made little progress during recent periods of domestic political uncertainty, Werapong said, adding that the government is now trying to regain momentum. 

“When I say Thailand is back, we are back to engage at the political level,” he said. “We don’t want to be someone who sits back and says the world changed but Thailand did nothing. We want to be at the table.” BLOOMBERG