The Thai government should quickly establish a special team to cope with new US tariffs, which are likely to be imposed on Thai exports to the US market.
Thailand stands out to be affected by the new US tariffs as it enjoys a trade surplus with the US, estimated at US$29 billion in 2023 and US$45.6 billion in 2024.
Sanan Angubolkul, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade, said that Thailand is at high risk of import tariffs being increase by the Trump administration, because it has the 11th highest trade surplus with the US, up from the 12th place last year.
Moreover, he said that the trade policies of the Trump administration may force several exporting countries to dump their surpluses onto ASEAN markets, including the Thai market, which will put more pressure on Thai products, such as electronics, electrical appliances, automobiles, farm produce and processed agricultural products.
To prevent this, Sanan suggests that the government imposes standard controls and measures against unfair trade.
Pote Aramwattananont, the first vice chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, suggests that Thailand should consider increasing imports of US farm, food and energy products, to cushion the potential impacts of US trade policies.
He also suggested that the government attaches more importance to the service sector, such as management fees, copyrights, banking, insurance, digital service and franchises, for which Thailand has a trade deficit with the US.
Describing the Trump tariffs as a zero sum game, Pote said that Thailand should put itself in a position to take advantage of the new world trade order, which may contribute positively to the country’s economic growth.
Due to the Trump administration’s trade policies, Thanawat Pholvichai, rector of the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce, forecasts that Thailand’s GDP may shrink by 0.35-0.4%, to 2.6-2.8%, this year, which is lower than the forecast of 3.5%.