Skip to main content
Trade

Thailand

EU trade relations with Thailand. Facts, figures and latest developments.

Country or region
Thailand
Trade topics
Negotiations and agreementsTrade policy

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

    • In 2020, total bilateral trade between the EU and Thailand amounted to €29 billion.
    • The EU is Thailand’s fourth largest trade partner (after China, Japan and the US), accounting for 7.5% of the country’s total trade. Thailand is the EU’s 26th largest trading partner worldwide.
    • Thailand exported goods worth €15.1 billion to the EU in 2020. Key exports from Thailand are machinery and electronics and transport equipment, miscellaneous manufactured articles, as well as food products.
    • The EU exported goods worth €11.3 billion to Thailand in 2020. Key EU exports to Thailand are machinery and transport equipment, chemicals and related products, and manufactured goods.  
    • Thailand is one of the most important destinations of European investments within ASEAN with €19.8 billion of outward stocks. The EU is the second-largest investor in Thailand after Japan.

    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.

    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 (17%) and the EU’s fourth largest trading partner in ASEAN.

    More information on ASEAN

    Trading with Thailand

    Latest news

    • Press release

    EU and Thailand relaunch trade negotiations

    Today, the EU and Thailand announced the relaunch of negotiations for an ambitious, modern and balanced free trade agreement (FTA), with sustainability at its core.