BANGKOK -(Dow Jones)- Regional and bilateral free trade agreements may discriminate against nonparticipating countries and spark disputes within the World Trade Organization, WTO chief Supachai Panitchpakdi warned Wednesday.
"I am not opposing such agreements, I am just warning countries to look at the details of the WTO framework," Supachai, a former Thai deputy prime minister, said at an event hosted by Thai business newspaper Prachachat Thurakij.
FTAs that breach WTO rules such as those regarding nondiscrimination could open the way to the filing of complaints by other WTO members, he said.
"In regard to RTAs (regional free trade agreements) and FTAs, I would say that in general all negotiations toward the removal of obstacles to free trade are positive. But I just want to warn about two or three potential problem areas," he said.
Supachai said that while bilateral and regional discussions were "less exhausting" than talks at the WTO, they yielded narrower results. Major issues, such as agriculture, will still have to be discussed within the WTO framework, he added.
He stressed his comments constitute a general warning and weren't aimed at any specific country.
Supachai's comments come one day after the end of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation's trade ministers meeting in the Thai city of Khon Kaen, which was characterized by multiple discussions involving regional and bilateral trade agreements.
Thailand, whose exports amount to about 60% of its gross domestic product, hopes to reach free trade deals with several APEC members and held talks on the sidelines of the Khon Kaen meeting with representatives from the U.S., China, Japan and Australia.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said Thailand has strong potential to be the second country in Asia after Singapore to reach a bilateral FTA with the U.S.
-By Laurent Malespine, Dow Jones Newswires; 662-2660744;Laurent.Malespine@
Dowjones.com
-Edited by Kevin Lim
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