It looks like Trump may eventually impose retaliatory tariffs on Thailand due to the high import duties Thailand places on U.S. goods. In the short term, this could hurt Thailand's exports, but in the long run, it might squeeze Thailand to finally lower its import duties on American products.

 

If that happens, it would be great for people living here, making it easier and more affordable to buy goods from Amazon and other U.S. retailers without the steep import taxes currently in place. 

 

You can now order most stuff online from Amazon in the US with free shipping to Thailand, making it much more cost-effective to order stuff now from the US. The only killer at present is the added on Thai import duties. 

 

It could be a little bit disruptive to the Thai economy and local manufacturers that sell to the Thai domestic market if more people start ordering stuff from the US. But I think the impact will be minimal. It will hurt the Thai government more though because they have been the big winners from collecting the high import tariffs on US goods for decades.

If Thailand still hopes to join BRICS, hopefully Trump tears them a new one as promised

39 minutes ago, RSD1 said:

if more people start ordering stuff from the US

Do you think many will do that? What would they order?

I have to admit I never missed ordering anything from over there.

11 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Do you think many will do that? What would they order?

I have to admit I never missed ordering anything from over there.

Tons of stuff! Have a look at my OnlyFans. The link to my Amazon wishlist is on there. 

54 minutes ago, RSD1 said:

You can now order most stuff online from Amazon in the US with free shipping to Thailand

 

That's awesome!

 

Now I can get my Chinese products from US retailers without having to pay the 38-baht Lazada shipping fee!

 

Winning!

I think it's obvious that Thailand is on the list because of the trade imbalance alone. Trump falsely believes that means that any country in that category is "stealing" from the U.S. Why hasn't he done it yet? Not sure. Maybe because he doesn't consider Thailand a big name country and he's pretty dumb when it comes to geography (like his voters). But with the impact from what he's doing to China which means China will dump stuff to Thailand, it seems to me more or less inevitable. 

Just go to a grocery store and check the prices of US imported grocery products.  It's ridiculous.  I checked using an AI interface and it seems that tariffs on food and agricultural products can range upwards of 50% and tariffs on US made clothing can range upward of 60%.  Needless to say I don't purchase US made goods here in Thailand. 
So honestly, I consider reciprocal tariffs to simply be leveling the playing field. 

1 hour ago, RSD1 said:

It looks like Trump may eventually impose retaliatory tariffs on Thailand due to the high import duties Thailand places on U.S. goods. In the short term, this could hurt Thailand's exports, but in the long run, it might squeeze Thailand to finally lower its import duties on American products.

 

If that happens, it would be great for people living here, making it easier and more affordable to buy goods from Amazon and other U.S. retailers without the steep import taxes currently in place. 

 

You can now order most stuff online from Amazon in the US with free shipping to Thailand, making it much more cost-effective to order stuff now from the US. The only killer at present is the added on Thai import duties. 

 

It could be a little bit disruptive to the Thai economy and local manufacturers that sell to the Thai domestic market if more people start ordering stuff from the US. But I think the impact will be minimal. It will hurt the Thai government more though because they have been the big winners from collecting the high import tariffs on US goods for decades.

 

Sorry to burst your bubble, but there is no such thing as "free shipping" just like there is no "free healthcare"

 

This is a temporary promo that amazon offers from time to time. The shipping promotion was gone in the past and it will be gone again.

2 minutes ago, connda said:

Just go to a grocery store and check the prices of US imported grocery products.  It's ridiculous.  I checked using an AI interface and it seems that tariffs on food and agricultural products can range upwards of 50% and tariffs on US made clothing can range upward of 60%.  Needless to say I don't purchase US made goods here in Thailand. 
So honestly, I consider reciprocal tariffs to simply be leveling the playing field. 

I'm sure most of us are buying some U.S. products without realizing it though.

But yes they are expensive.

The only obvious U.S. products that I regularly buy are Tabasco Chipotle hot sauce and Grape Nuts cereal. I've figured out a clever way to stretch the absurdly priced Grape Nuts but there is no way I would be eating only that for breakfast.

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Do you think many will do that? What would they order?

I have to admit I never missed ordering anything from over there.

US made Clothes.  Try to find a pair of whitey-tighteys that actually will fit your farang sized butt here in Thailand, just as an example.  And I'm not talking about obese Westerner sizes, just a regular, normal sized farang male.  Thailand makes underwear for "no-butt" teenaged boys and men.  If you go into your typical mall here in Thailand you end up having to pay a couple of thousand THB for a freaking pack of underwear. 

The following is not related to the US but is related to Amazon

 

i have found ordering electronic goods from Amazon UK and delivering to Thailand can be cheaper than delivering the same item to the U.K. 

 

uk VAT is 20% so once that is removed Thai VAT at 7% plus duty can come out cheaper 

7 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I'm sure most of us are buying some U.S. products without realizing it though.

But yes they are expensive.

The only obvious U.S. products that I regularly buy are Tabasco Chipotle hot sauce and Grape Nuts cereal. I've figured out a clever way to stretch the absurdly priced Grape Nuts but there is no way I would be eating only that for breakfast.

Ditto on the Grape Nuts.  I do like them.  I like Cream of Wheat too, but the last box I priced was the equivalent of $15 bucks USD.  $7 bucks in the US.  Just stupid prices.  I can see a markup to offset shipping, but twice the price?  I use to buy Cream of Wheat when I first got here in Korat and it wasn't that absurdly priced.  Where are you buying your Grape Nuts?
 

5 minutes ago, narkeddiver said:

The following is not related to the US but is related to Amazon

 

i have found ordering electronic goods from Amazon UK and delivering to Thailand can be cheaper than delivering the same item to the U.K. 

 

uk VAT is 20% so once that is removed Thai VAT at 7% plus duty can come out cheaper 

Wow!  The UK "rogers" there citizens with a 20% VAT?  Criminey! 
"Bend over commoners and let Uncle Starmer and friends have their way with you."

16 minutes ago, connda said:

Ditto on the Grape Nuts.  I do like them.  I like Cream of Wheat too, but the last box I priced was the equivalent of $15 bucks USD.  $7 bucks in the US.  Just stupid prices.  I can see a markup to offset shipping, but twice the price?  I use to buy Cream of Wheat when I first got here in Korat and it wasn't that absurdly priced.  Where are you buying your Grape Nuts?
 

I like Cream of Wheat too but based on the price here, I have never bought it.

Impossible to "stretch" it like Grape Nuts.

I may as explain what I mean.

To stretch Grape Nuts for a cereal breakfast I use a mix of other cheaper not crunchy grains including Thai sourced no sugar corn flakes, Australian no sugar multigrain Muesli surprisingly cheap, Orgran rice puffs also Aussie I think, and then just two tablespoons of Grape Nuts. The Grape Nuts crunch and taste dominates.

13 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I like Cream of Wheat too but based on the price here, I have never bought it.

Impossible to "stretch" it like Grape Nuts.

I may as explain what I mean.

To stretch Grape Nuts for a cereal breakfast I use a mix of other cheaper not crunchy grains including Thai sourced no sugar corn flakes, Australian no sugar multigrain Muesli surprisingly cheap, Orgran rice puffs also Aussie I think, and then just two tablespoons of Grape Nuts. The Grape Nuts crunch and taste dominates.

I'll have to try that! 

3 hours ago, RSD1 said:

It looks like Trump may eventually impose retaliatory tariffs on Thailand due to the high import duties Thailand places on U.S. goods. In the short term, this could hurt Thailand's exports, but in the long run, it might squeeze Thailand to finally lower its import duties on American products.

 

He should also ban Thais from receiving citizenship or even green cards until they reciprocate a little in Thailand. Also deport the hordes of illegal ones who are overstaying their visas and doing fraud marriages.

 

Last year I met a girl here in Thailand who went to high school in L.A. by simply overstaying her tourist visa and taking advantage of California  state laws which require schools to take all students regardless of immigration status. State of CA should be punished for this and abusing their tax payers.

2 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

That's awesome!

 

Now I can get my Chinese products from US retailers without having to pay the 38-baht Lazada shipping fee!

 

Winning!

Slightly OT but you normally get free shipping from Lazada if you order on your phone and collect the tokens. 

3 hours ago, connda said:

Wow!  The UK "rogers" there citizens with a 20% VAT?  Criminey! 
"Bend over commoners and let Uncle Starmer and friends have their way with you."

Interestingly it was a Conservative government that raised the VAT rate to 20% - it had been 17.5% under the previous Labour government 

I can't wait to pat 27 baht less for SPAM

I think Trump is focused on the "balance" (surplus) of trade, and not the actual tariffs, based on what I've heard him say.

 

So he might demand that Thigh-Land import more U.S. goods, and/or export fewer goods to the U.S.

 

 

 

Thailand seeks to reduce US trade surplus with more ethane imports

 

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/thailand-import-more-us-ethane-reduce-trade-surplus-2025-02-04/

4 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Do you think many will do that? What would they order?

I have to admit I never missed ordering anything from over there.

Even Heinz Ketchup available here🤗. And everything else much cheaper by Thai or Chinese producers 

The absolutely limitless amount of freedumb lovers who think that tariffs are "good" or that everything should be "made in freedumbland", is quite astoni-----, err, par for the course. But doesn't change their soap grade IQ. 

Id like some USA steak i can afford and velveta for mac n cheese 

5 hours ago, RSD1 said:

making it easier and more affordable to buy goods from Amazon

 

The fact is that 90% of goods sold on Amazon have the Country of Origin as CN (People's Republic of China)

9 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

Thailand seeks to reduce US trade surplus with more ethane imports

 

What is "ethane"? Is it the same as "ethanol"?

 

Sorry, English is not my first language 🙂

 

UPDATE: Ethane (C₂H₆) is a colorless, odorless, flammable gas that's found in natural gas and petroleum. It's used as a fuel, in chemical manufacturing, and as a freezing agent.

24 minutes ago, narkeddiver said:

Interestingly it was a Conservative government that raised the VAT rate to 20% - it had been 17.5% under the previous Labour government 

 

Thailand VAT is 7% (one of the lowest in the world). But the new Thai government wants to increase it.

 

Please reinstate the good old Prayut 😀

6 hours ago, RSD1 said:

You can now order most stuff online from Amazon in the US with free shipping to Thailand

 I have Amazon Prime and I find Amazon will not ship most of the goods I am interested in to Thailand.  Though it has started to improve a little in the last few years.

5 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I think it's obvious that Thailand is on the list because of the trade imbalance alone. Trump falsely believes that means that any country in that category is "stealing" from the U.S. Why hasn't he done it yet? Not sure. Maybe because he doesn't consider Thailand a big name country and he's pretty dumb when it comes to geography (like his voters). But with the impact from what he's doing to China which means China will dump stuff to Thailand, it seems to me more or less inevitable. 

It could start hitting Thailand as soon as April first. That was in the memo Trump signed yesterday focusing on reciprocal tariffs. India, Vietnam, and Thailand are the main ones in Asia that could get hit by this. Thailand is well aware of the situation. They are already scrambling. 
 

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2025/02/13/thailand-waits-on-new-trump-retaliatory-trade-tariffs-to-be-launched-within-hours-from-the-white-house/
 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c360lle165ro

I wonder why Thailand has not developed its domestic market over the years, preferring to act as a trader rather than developing at home. Better education, better homegrown technology would mean less reliance on the West.

1 hour ago, Aviatorhi said:

The absolutely limitless amount of freedumb lovers who think that tariffs are "good" or that everything should be "made in freedumbland", is quite astoni-----, err, par for the course. But doesn't change their soap grade IQ. 

Are you criticizing Trump's tariffs or Thailand's tariffs?