PATTAYA: The US and Thailand wrapped up their third round of free trade talks on Friday with the US confident a bilateral pact would boost the kingdom’s GDP and help alleviate poverty. “The US government is pleased with the progress that was achieved during the week-long round of negotiations,” with the two sides gaining a “better understanding” of each other’s positions, Barbara Weisel, the US chief negotiator, told reporters at the end of the latest talks.
A new pact would boost Thailand’s GDP by more than 1.3 percentage points and create 78,000 new jobs, she said, citing studies by Thai researchers.
