Pheu Thai clarified that the FTA negotiations with EFTA were completed and signed on 23 Jan 2025. They advised Supachai to stop claiming Pheu Thai's achievements as her own and to spend time developing her own initiatives, affirming that digital footprints exist as evidence of the party's work.
On 24 Jan 2026, Mr. Worawong Ramangkul, former assistant to the Minister of Commerce, stated that regarding reports of the Commerce Minister opening free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between Thailand and the EFTA countries—Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland—he clarified that the FTA negotiations were completed on 30 Nov 2024, with the signing ceremony held at the House of Switzerland in Davos, Switzerland, on 23 Jan 2025 during the World Economic Forum (WEF). The agreement was signed by Thailand's Minister of Commerce (Mr. Pichai Naripthaphan), Switzerland's Minister of Economy (Guy Parmelin), Norway's Minister of Trade and Industry (Cecilie Myrseth), Liechtenstein's Foreign Minister (Dominik Hasler), and Iceland's Permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry (Martin Eyjólfsson), witnessed by Thailand's Prime Minister (Ms. Paethongtarn Shinawatra) and EFTA Secretary-General (Kurt Jaeger). Mr. Ramangkul was present at the event. This was Thailand's first FTA with European countries. The agreement is currently awaiting parliamentary ratification, a normal procedure.
The FTA between Thailand and the EFTA countries is a major achievement of the Pheu Thai government. Following the agreement, Thai exports to the EFTA countries grew by 78.66% in 2025. Additionally, the successful FTA negotiations with EFTA contributed to a 12.93% growth in Thailand's exports in 2025 overall and facilitated the conclusion of the Thailand-Bhutan FTA in April 2025, signed during the BIMSTEC meeting, bringing Thailand's total FTAs to 24 countries.
Pheu Thai's policy calls for accelerating FTA negotiations to secure as many trade agreements as possible, attracting trade and investment to boost Thailand's economy. Currently, Vietnam has FTAs with over 60 countries, which has clearly fostered growth in trade and investment, with projections that Vietnam's GDP may soon surpass Thailand's.
Thailand urgently needs to finalize FTA negotiations with the European Union, which has 27 member countries. Previously, Maros Sefcovic, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Relations between Organizations and Transparency, and head of the EU negotiation team, promised Thailand's Minister of Commerce, Mr. Pichai Naripthaphan, to conclude the agreement by 25 Dec 2025. However, the deal has yet to be completed.
Therefore, Mr. Ramangkul urged Ms. Supachai Sutthumpan, Minister of Commerce, to stop distorting news as if she is currently negotiating the FTA with EFTA, as the negotiations were completed before she took office. He also requested that she focus on successfully concluding the FTA negotiations with the EU to demonstrate her capability as head of Thailand's negotiation team.
Furthermore, he asked Ms. Supachai to cease claiming Pheu Thai's achievements as her own. He personally suggested she devote time to developing her own initiatives. The Ministry of Commerce has many issues and problems awaiting solutions. This would help Thailand's economy grow by more than 3% annually, as it did under Prime Minister Paethongtarn Shinawatra’s government. He believes original achievements would be far more commendable than appropriating Pheu Thai's work.
Since Ms. Supachai took office, all announced accomplishments have been those of the Pheu Thai government, such as breaking monopolies, reducing rice stockpiles to 100 tons to enable small exporters easier export access, exporting cassava to Saudi Arabia with deals starting in May 2025, the Thailand-Singapore Food Security project, and the FTA negotiations with EFTA.
Pheu Thai's achievements are all verifiable and digitally recorded on the internet, allowing full historical review. This prevents prior Pheu Thai government work from being misrepresented as Ms. Supachai's own. Public skepticism has been significant; broadcaster Sorayuth Suthassanachinda asked Ms. Supachai on the program "Talk Offscreen" why she was presenting initiatives that the Pheu Thai government had long promoted.
Additionally, current rice prices remain below those during the Pheu Thai government. In 2024, white rice prices ranged from 10,000 to 12,000 baht per ton for the main crop and 8,800 to 9,000 baht per ton for the off-season crop. In contrast, under Minister Supachai, prices fell to as low as 5,400 baht per ton before rising to 6,500-8,000 baht per ton—still significantly below Pheu Thai-era prices. Meanwhile, jasmine rice prices have remained strong at 15,000 to 16,500 baht per ton since the Pheu Thai government, never falling. He urged Ms. Supachai to clarify these facts to the public.
