The two countries strengthen their strategic partnership.

The Minister of Commerce is moving forward to strengthen Thai-US relations, cooperate in trade and investment through the control of dual-use items (DUI), hoping to increase trade and investment between all friends. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce Mr. Phumtham Vejjayachai spoke after Mr. Robert F. Godec, U.S. Ambassador to Thailand, and Mr. Gonzalo Suarez, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Office of International Security and Nonproliferation, that he was aware that the U.S. representative was concerned about controlling the list of products that are at risk of being used to produce weapons that threaten international security, especially the Common High Priority List (CHPL). He assured the United States, as an important ally, that the Ministry of Commerce prioritizes the control of export activities that will not involve the proliferation of WMD in accordance with international resolutions, especially the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540, and will discuss with relevan t agencies, such as the Customs Department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to determine measures to prevent Thailand from becoming a transit country for such goods under the legal framework. However, in determining the measures, the impact on Thailand's industrial sector must also be taken into account. Currently, the Ministry of Commerce is in the process of implementing a licensing system and will review the list of DUI goods to be consistent with changes in technology in order to prevent Thai goods from being sent to high-risk destinations. The pilot phase will be nuclear goods in the first phase, which is expected to come into effect in mid-2025. In addition, he raised a matter that Thailand attaches great importance to, which is the case of the United States opening an investigation and using trade remedies (AD and CVD) against various countries, including Thailand, regarding solar cell products, which such measures have an impact on the overall economy and foreign investment. He also emphasized th at he had raised concerns about the mixing of hazardous waste (municipal waste) with other types of products from the United States to Thailand, and asked that relevant agencies be notified to help control it, and the US Ambassador was happy to coordinate further. It can be seen that existing trade and investment measures may not be sufficient in today's world of trade, especially in terms of global security and peace. The DUI goods control measure is a new measure in Thailand that the Thai private sector should give importance to and respond to by conducting business carefully so that investors can be confident that Thailand is a production base for advanced products and technology that is safe and free from terrorism or the proliferation of WMD, etc. -514-Thai News Agency Source: Thai News Agency