<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/27/us-trade-tpp-thailand-idUSKBN0TG0HO20151127" style="font-size: 11pt; color: purple;" class="">http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/27/us-trade-tpp-thailand-idUSKBN0TG0HO20151127</a></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></div><h1 style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 24pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Thailand says 'highly likely' it will seek TPP membership<o:p class=""></o:p></h1><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="location">TOKYO</span> <span class="divider">| </span><span class="byline">By <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=kiyoshi.takenaka&" style="color: purple;" class="">Kiyoshi Takenaka</a></span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""><br class=""></span>Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha - RTS25E1<o:p class=""></o:p></div><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Thailand is "highly likely" to seek membership of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) but would first need to weigh up the impact of the free-trade accord on its export-led economy, a deputy prime minister said on Friday.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">The pact currently has 12 members and would slash tariffs in a bloc comprising countries from Canada, Australia and Japan to Mexico, Vietnam and Chile in a trade area of 800 million people worth about 40 percent of the global economy.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">"Thailand is highly interested in joining TPP ...," Somkid Jatusripitak told a news conference in Tokyo. "Chances are high that Thailand will seek to join TPP."<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Somkid, the country's economic tsar, said the government was analyzing the impact of joining the trade deal, particularly on sensitive issues like agriculture and pharmaceuticals.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">"We need to convene specialists and gain the public's understanding on these matters. We need a forum for discussion and exchanging views," he said.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Membership could be a boon for Thailand as competition heats up from rival exports and manufacturing economies like Malaysia and Vietnam, particularly in electronics, seafood and agriculture.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">It could also benefit its autos industry, which accounts for about 10 percent of gross domestic product, and support large-scale investments in assembly plants in Thailand from Japanese carmakers like Toyota (<a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=7203.T" style="color: purple;" class="">7203.T</a>) and Honda (<a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=7267.T" style="color: purple;" class="">7267.T</a>). Thailand is a regional production and export base for the world's top carmakers.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said a comprehensive study of the pact was needed.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">"We have to look at everything carefully before making a decision," he told reporters in Bangkok.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Thailand's expression of interest follows a marathon final round of talks in Atlanta that capped off six years of complex negotiations towards the biggest trade pact in a generation.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">The Philippines has also signaled it may apply and Indonesia's trade minister on Tuesday said his country had "no choice" but to sign up, or risk losing its competitive edge.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Failure to come on board could hurt foreign investment flows into Thailand as TPP members would build up a supply chain within the bloc, Kbank Capital Markets wrote in a report.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">"Thailand will need to weigh the benefits of the TPP against domestic institutional capabilities to prepare for changes in the new era of global trade," it said.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Thailand also needs to resolve its human trafficking problem as the United States refuses to negotiate with countries in its lowest tier for its Trafficking in Persons ranking, it said.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Thailand has been under military rule since a coup last year and its trade-dependent economy is still struggling as exports and domestic demand remain weak.<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">(Additional reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak in Bangkok; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing by Martin Petty)<o:p class=""></o:p></p><div class=""><br class=""></div></body></html>