By The Straits Times | Created at 2025-04-03 05:04:18 | Updated at 2025-04-04 18:11:30
1 day ago
BANGKOK – Thailand is prepared to deal with the fallout of the 36 per cent so-called reciprocal tariff imposed by the Trump administration, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said, adding that the South-east Asian country would hold talks with the US to lower the levy.
The ministries of finance and commerce will take the lead in devising short-term measures to deal with the impact on manufacturers and exporters, Ms Paetongtarn told reporters on April 3.
Given the higher tariffs are not yet effective, there is scope for negotiations to bring it down to a more reasonable level, she said.
“Don’t worry. We have prepared several steps”, Ms Paetongtarn said in response to questions on how her government planned to deal with the new tariff.
The average Thai tariff on US goods was 9 per cent and the Trump administration may have factored in several non-tariff barriers to trade in imposing such a steep levy, Ms Paetongtarn said.
Thailand’s trade surplus with the US totaled US$45 billion in 2024, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative.
The country adopted a wait and see strategy in the run-up to the tariff announcement and promised to step up imports of energy and food products to cut the trade surplus.
The US is Thailand’s largest export market with electronics, machinery and agricultural products topping the list of goods.
The 36 per cent tariff was higher than Thai businesses expected, Thai Chamber of Commerce Chairman Poj Aramwattananont said, urging the government for speedy negotiations.
The business group was not expecting the US to slap more than a 25 per cent tariff on Thai goods, he said, adding that Thailand should not panic as other countries are also facing higher tariffs.
“The US will also have some impact from this as they still can’t produce to replace the imports fast enough,” he said. BLOOMBERG
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