Legal Issues relating to Thailand - Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement

Abstract

Thailand's economy and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth during the past decades had imperatively high dependency on exports of goods, services, and foreign investments.  One of the important factors supporting and promoting such growth is driven from negotiations, agreements, and the implementation of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Sri Lanka has long been a trading partner with Thailand and during 2010 Sri Lanka has seen sharp rises in economic growth which created opportunities and boosted large interests from the international community. Today although, Sri Lanka is currently under severe economic crisis; suffering from trade deficits and large amounts of government debt, the long trading history between Thailand and Sri Lanka remarks exciting opportunities awaiting to be further explored. The lack of a suitable FTA between Thailand and Sri Lanka today will not only endlessly deter potential growths between the two countries but may also open a window of opportunities for other countries to exploit not only new but also existing Thai-Sri Lanka trading opportunities. This research article is a study of legal issues relating to the on-going establishments of a Thai-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. The article will primarily focus on understanding Sri Lanka’s existing economic policies, laws, rules, and regulations relating to international trade in goods, services, and investments to address problems and barriers occurring on Thai businesses. Finally, negotiation guidelines for a successful establishment of Thai-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement will be proposed to bring the greatest benefit to Thai entrepreneurs and the country's economy.