Assistant U.S. Trade Representative (AUSTR) Barbara Weisel led a delegation of USTR and U.S. Department of Commerce officials to Bangkok March 29-April 3 for a series of meetings focused on expanding U.S. trade in Thailand and the ASEAN region. During the U.S.-ASEAN meeting on March 30, AUSTR Weisel outlined the Trump Administration’s trade agenda and emphasized the U.S. administration’s strong interest in strengthening economic ties as we celebrate our 40 years of partnership with ASEAN this year. In the April 3 U.S.-Thai Joint Committee meeting under our bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), both sides took stock of progress since the April 2016, and mapped out next steps toward resolving trade hindrances in areas such as customs, intellectual property rights protection, and market access for agricultural products. AUSTR Weisel also had the opportunity to discuss bilateral trade issues with U.S. and Thai private sectors, as well as be briefed on Thailand 4.0.
