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Thursday, 27th October 2005 (5927 views)

The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) has warned that the country's gem and jewellery industry could have serious problems if China delays the liberalisation of the sector in the Thai-Chinese trading agreement.

Furthermore, the FTI is worried that the United States will end the tariffs Thailand's gems and jewellery have had from the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) agreement, given to certain products from developing countries.

Senior chairman of the Thai Gem and Jewellery Traders Association, Pornsit Sriorthaikul, believes there will be serious consequences if the GSP agreement is not renewed.

He said: "If Thai negotiators cannot persuade the US to renew the GSP for the next round, this, in line with government's acceptance for Beijing's request for a two-year extension of import tariffs on gem and jewelry from Thailand to China, will mean local traders will lose out."

Thailand's gem and jewellery industry's export value has been $1.97 billion (£1.1 billion) so far this year, a 17 per cent increase from 2004.

The highest revenue has come from gold, diamond and silver jewellery.

 

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