Nuntawan Sakuntanaga, director-general of the Export Promotion Department of the Commerce Ministry, said yesterday that the government hoped to boost foreign investor confidence by explaining to the international arena that the country has clear plans to restore growth after the severe floods. The inundation has not totally destroyed trade and manufacturing, but only parts of some industries.

Leaders from the 21 economies across Asia and the Pacific will gather in Honolulu from tomorrow to Sunday to discuss various economic matters. However, because of the crisis at home, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has cancelled her attendance at the summit and is dispatching Deputy PM Kittiratt Na-Ranong in her place.

The Apec Summit will showcase the progress of talks on the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

According to the report of the Thai Trade Representative in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will announce that Japan will join the TPP negotiations during the Apec leaders' meeting on Saturday.

Japan became highly concerned over its competitiveness against TPP members in penetrating the US market, he said.

The report shows that Japan's gross domestic product will increase by 0.54 per cent or 2.7 trillion yen (Bt1 trillion) in 10 years if it joins the TPP. However, if it does not join, it could lose 1.53 per cent in global trading and 800,000 jobs.

The Japanese Forestry and Fishery Department has objected to the plan to become a member of the TPP, saying it could cause losses in the agricultural sector and a loss of food self-sufficiency by allowing more food imports.

The United States is already negotiating with eight prospective TPP members - Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The US has trade agreements with several of these nations and is interested in reducing tariffs with other countries. If those countries and Japan succeed in their TPP negotiations, Thailand could be left behind and lose competitiveness in terms of accessing the US market, Nuntawan said.

The department has reported that Thailand's trade with Apec countries expanded in the first nine months of this year. Exports from Thailand to Apec economies rose 26 per cent to US$124.14 billion (Bt3.81 trillion), while imports increased 27 per cent to $118.82 billion.