Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2024-01-01 (Subject to Confirmation at the next Meeting)

Proposed Sri Lanka - Thailand Free Trade Agreement (SLTFTA)

- The Ninth Round of Negotiations on the proposed Sri Lanka - Thailand Free Trade Agreement has been held from 2023‑12‑18 to 2023‑12‑20 in Colombo. The relevant negotiations have been concluded at present and the same has been referred to Working Group on Legal and Institutional Issues for legal scrubbing. At the Ninth Round of Negotiations, both parties have agreed to include provisions so as to remove 50% of the applicable duties on the HS Codes categorized in the Sensitive Track of the Tariff Liberalization Programme as a single point removal at the beginning of the 16th year from the date of implementation of the Agreement, under this Agreement and thereby reducing the duration of the Tariff Liberalization Programme from 18 years to 16 years. As such, the proposal made by the Hon. President to pursue action as per the said consensus, was approved by the Cabinet.