Thai Finance minister hopes there is still room to reduce US tariffs

Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira admitted today that he is somewhat surprised by the US administration’s imposition of a 36% tariff on goods from Thailand, but he is remains optimistic that there is still room to negotiate before the new August 1st deadline.

He said that the arrival of the notification from the White House, confirming the 36% tariff on Thai goods, came before the expiration of the original July 9 deadline and that the US administration might not have considered Thailand’s revised tariff proposal, sent on July 6th.

He explained that the US administration expects the next round of negotiations, to take place before August 1, to be more intense and conclusive, after the delivery of the notification from the White House.

As there are still 20 days before the new deadline, Pichai said he hopes that the US will reduce the 36% tariff, after it has considered Thailand’s revised and original proposals.

He disclosed that, in the revised proposal, Thailand has agreed to substantially cut tariffs on about 90% of US imports and to remove tariffs altogether on some other imported items.

He said that there are, however, about 10% of US imports on which there is no proposal to cut tariffs, because the Thai government must protect local businesses and from impacts on imports from other countries with which Thailand has free trade agreements.

In the next step, Pichai stressed the importance of reforming the Thai economic structure, to reduce dependence on Thai exports, to strengthen the agricultural sector, to streamline the tourism sector and to enhance tourist confidence.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said he wanted a “better deal” than the 36 per cent tariff.