The United States and Thailand have concluded their fifth round of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations, making significant progress on the range of issues, including services, investment and financial services, covered by the agreement, the US Trade Representative Office announced Monday in a statement.

The two sides "will meet again in November to maintain the momentum and position the United States and Thailand to conclude the FTA expeditiously," said the statement.

It said that the FTA, which is going to remove trade barriers between the two nations, will generate "solid economic benefits" for both the United States and Thailand.

The United States is already the second largest source of imports of Thailand, with US business shipping 6.4 billion dollars in exports to the Asian country last year.

The FTA will be particularly beneficial for US agricultural producers, the statement said. The United States is currently the top supplier to Thailand of agricultural products, selling cotton, wheat, soybeans and soybean meal, hides and skins, prepared animal feed, dairy products, and processed foods.

The agreement will further open and diversify sales for there and other products, such as beef and pork, to this major market for US farmers and ranchers, it added.

According to the statement, the first round of US-Thailand FTA negotiations was held in July 2004, with successive rounds held in October 2004 and April 2005. Negotiating groups also held meetings between rounds to lay the groundwork for a successful fourth round. The United States hopes to finish negotiations with Thailand in early 2006.

Total trade between the United States and Thailand was 24 billion dollars in 2004, up 11 percent from the previous year and nearly doubling in the last decade.

Source: Xinhua