VZCZCXRO4454
OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHBK #2678/01 2930945
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 200945Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8661
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI IMMEDIATE 7176
RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 002678 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, EEB 
STATE PASS TO USTR FOR BWEISEL, BKLEIN 
COMMERCE FOR EAP/MAC/OKSA FOR JKELLY 
TREASURY FOR OASIA 
SINGAPORE FOR FINATT BLEIWEIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: ECON EINV ETRD PREL TH
SUBJECT: PRIME MINISTER MEETS WITH ASIA-PACIFIC AMERICAN CHAMBERS OF 
COMMERCE 
 
REF: A. BANGKOK 2597 (ENVIRONMENTALISTS VERSUS INDUSTRIALISTS) 
¶B. BANGKOK 2320 (AMBASSADOR MEETS DEPUTY FINANCE MINISTER) 
¶C. BANGKOK 2185 (REFORMING THAI CUSTOMS) 
 
BANGKOK 00002678  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: In an October 16 meeting with the Ambassador and 
representatives of the Asia-Pacific Council of American Chambers of 
Commerce (APCAC), Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva expressed 
optimism that Thailand was on the path to economic recovery now that 
unemployment figures have stabilized and exports and tourism figures 
are improving. He asserted that following the implementation of the 
government's second stimulus package, Thailand's competitiveness 
should soar over the next three years. While noting the wealth of 
opportunities for American businesses in Thailand and the region, 
the Ambassador urged the Prime Minister to address some of the 
business community's long-standing complaints such as customs 
inefficiencies. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) The Ambassador led a group of American business leaders from 
APCAC, an umbrella organization of 27 American Chambers of Commerce 
from throughout the region, to meet with Prime Minister Abhisit on 
October 16. The business group was headed by APCAC Chair, Kristin 
Paulson, based in Singapore, and Tami Overby, Vice President for 
Asia Pacific at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Ambassador noted the wealth of opportunities to expand 
trade between the U.S. and Asia and congratulated the Prime 
Minister's efforts to establish a single window to help facilitate 
trade. Abhisit said Thailand's economic data was starting to show 
signs of recovery and he hoped his government could now focus on 
improving Thailand's competitiveness in the region. Abhisit 
expressed his appreciation for the Obama Administration's increased 
engagement with ASEAN and said that he looked forward to continuing 
these discussions with the President during next month's U.S.-ASEAN 
Summit in Singapore.  Abhisit also said he hoped the U.S. would be 
able to facilitate a conclusion to the Doha Round soon and that a 
binding agreement could be reached on climate change. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Ambassador raised a set of existing business concerns, 
including customs inconsistencies (ref C), and business worries at 
some major investment sites such as the Map Ta Phut Industrial 
Estate (ref A). The Ambassador opined that if the Thai government 
could address these business concerns, U.S. investment in Thailand 
could easily top $3 billion this year, or one eighth of overall 
investment over the past fifty years. Abhisit noted that the foreign 
business community regularly reminded him of the need to liberalize 
Thailand's investment rules, particularly in the finance and 
logistics sectors. He added that his government would be willing to 
liberalize certain sectors, particularly those that would not 
require lengthy legislative amendments. 
 
¶5. (U) In response to the Ambassador's inquiry about the Map Ta Phut 
dispute (ref A), the Prime Minister emphasized that his government 
had appealed the ruling by the Administrative Court and that he 
hoped the Supreme Administrative Court would overturn the ruling so 
that companies, including Dow Chemical and Star Petroleum Refining 
Co, a subsidiary of Chevron, could proceed with their investment 
projects. He indicated that the government is currently reviewing 
other options to enable the projects to proceed, particularly if the 
court's initial ruling is upheld. The Ambassador stated that the 
U.S. Government will not interfere with the legal process and 
stressed that all parties want to reach an environmentally friendly 
solution to the problem. 
 
¶6. (U) Regarding intellectual property rights, Abhisit pointed out 
that the government had increased its IPR enforcement efforts in 
recent months.  He expressed hope that the government's "creative 
economy" initiative would motivate Thai citizens to create their own 
intellectual property to propel the Thai economy forward. He added 
that the government continues to look for solutions to provide lower 
income populations with access to essential drugs. 
 
¶7. (SBU) In a separate one-on-one meeting with the Prime Minister 
following the APCAC meeting, the Ambassador inquired about the 
status of the U.S. company GTECH's online lottery contract, which 
has been stalled for the past four years. The Prime Minister 
indicated that the Ministry of Finance would allow the project to 
move forward, but only after a charitable fund for the proceeds 
generated by the lottery had been established. The Ambassador also 
raised the Customs-related concerns of Amway (ref B), but the Prime 
Minister was surprised Amway's case had not been resolved already. 
Post will follow up on these two cases. 
 
 
BANGKOK 00002678  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
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