Economist: “The Thai manufacturer who decides to look to Europe will benefit because that will be one of the most attractive markets.”

          EFFORTS Italy and Spain to raise imports tariffs on Thai jewelry could consume time and Thai exporters could face fewer barriers if they focus on organized marketing in Europe as the planned economic integration of the 12 European economies draws near, says a European economist.

          “I don’t see the mechanism where the tariff increases could be justified right away under GATT (General Agreement of Trade and Tariffs) of which the European Economic Community is a contracting party.” Said John A. Johnson of J.M. Didier & Associates, a private law and economics firm in Brussels, Belgium. Thai jewelry is subject to a 3.5 percent import tax in Europe, compared to 6.5 percent in the United States.

          The community consists of 12 member nations. They are France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and United Kingdom. Thailand too is a GATT signatory.

          Forty percent of Europe’s market are abroad and the community has “a lot to lose by moving out of GATT,” said Johnson, who also is an advisor to the Thai government.

          To impose higher tariffs, Italy, France and Spain would be required to justify punitive measures that could take at least 1 ½ years to investigate, say, for antidumping, he said. The term refers to when the export price of goods is below their domestic price, suggesting that exports are subsidized to gain market share.

          Calling Europe an “effervescent area,” Johnson urged Thai jewelry exporters to move in. “From a commercial point of view, it’s foolish to believe in the Fortress Europe or the 1992 siege mentality,” he said. “Europe has never been as open if adjustments are made.”

          Those adjustments would include familiarity with and accommodation to the changing technical standards and norms as well as the unified European market environment, he said.          “If you don’t adapt to technical norms, you may lose a market. This is not protectionism, it’s rules of the game changing,” Johnson said. “But if you adapt, you get not only one market but 12.”

          “The Thai manufacturer who decides to look to Europe will benefit because that will be one of the most attractive markets,” he added.

          He urged ambitious Thai jewelers to organize trade missions and stage cocktail circuits aimed at introducing Thai jewelry on a rotational basis. After a series of meetings with European retail outlets and their competitors, “each jeweler will see the advantages and don’t want to be left behind,” Johnson emphasized.

          “It’s a marvelous opportunity they have to take. Something like that would be very successful,” he said.