Potential impact of Thailand Australia free trade agreement on business sustainability in Thailand : a legal perspective

Thailand, as a major trading nation, has been entering into trade agreements for centuries. The early Trade Agreements with European nations definitely advantaged them and disadvantaged Thailand. Has the current emphasis on Free Trade Agreements really benefitted countries like Thailand or are one or both parties to the Agreements suffering as a result? The consequences are very much dependent on the degree of commonality in economies of the partner countries. One of the social impacts of any change in the economic structure of a country is the dislocation that this causes to some sectors of the economy. Is social dislocation an unavoidable outcome of a sustainable economy or should the focus be on ensuring the sustainability of all sectors of the economy? TAFTA addresses this issue by allowing the Thai industry time to adjust to the changed trading environment. This paper focusses on the Thailand Australia Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA) and its impact on the sustainability of the various sectors of the Thai economy. It will show that TAFTA will have a positive impact overall on the sustainability of the Thai economy unlike the potential free trade agreements with countries like USA, China and Japan. The reasons for these different impacts will be discussed