Has Thailand learnt any Lessons from the Bowring Treaty and the Treaty of Amity?

Abstract

<p>Thailand signed its first trade treaty with a European power with Portugal in 1516. Treaties with Spain, the Dutch followed. Arguably the two most significant treaties signed by Thailand in historical times were the Bowring Treaty signed with the British in 1855 and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce signed with the United States in 1833 and, following a number replacements, the current version – the Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations was signed in 1966 and entered into force in 1968 at the height of the Vietnam War. The Bowring Treaty resulted in Thailand ceding its sovereignty over British subjects in Thailand to British law. This treaty lasted for 70 years. The Treaty of Amity originally provided more favorable benefits to United States enterprises than did the British under their earlier treaty of 1826. They were less favorable than those that were negotiated by the British in the Bowring Treaty. Thailand clearly ceded some of its sovereignty under these treaties and then sought to retrieve the situation over the following century. Since 1991 Thailand has been a party to negotiations for 30 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with 13 having entered into force. At the same time Thailand has signed 40 Bilateral Investment Treaties of which 37 have entered into force. The paper analyses whether or not Thailand has learnt lessons from the obligations imposed under its past treaties and as a result has it been advantaged or disadvantaged again during its post 1990 treaty obligations.</p>