Thai Chamber of Commerce Warns of US Trade Threat, Urges Swift Government Action

[snoop1130]

File photo for reference only

 

Facing growing uncertainty over US trade policies, the Thai Chamber of Commerce has called on the government to act decisively to avoid potential tariffs from the Trump administration. At a press conference on March 6, the chamber proposed the creation of a "war room" to manage the situation and mitigate any repercussions of US trade measures.

 

The sense of urgency is heightened by the United States being Thailand's largest export market, constituting 18.3% of total exports in the previous year. With a trade surplus of $35.4 billion, the chamber emphasizes the importance of rebalancing trade relations to prevent detrimental outcomes.

 

Chamber vice chair Poj Aramwattananont expressed the pressing need for Thailand to review its import duty structure on US goods and to bolster imports from the US, particularly in energy, agriculture, and aircraft sectors. This strategy aims to decrease the trade surplus and align more closely with US interests amidst ongoing global trade tensions.

 

 

The actions come as a response to President Donald Trump's broad trade memorandum, which mandates federal reviews of trade deficits. With the deadline for these reviews looming on April 1, swift and strategic responses from Thailand are crucial. The Chamber has also suggested forming a special working group dedicated to addressing these trade issues.

 

As Thailand navigates these waters, the proposed measures reflect an intention to maintain favourable trade relations with the US while safeguarding national economic interests. The development of such a strategy is intended to ensure that trade relations remain fair and beneficial to both nations, reported The Thaiger.

 

-- 2025-03-06

 

 

[ozz1]

Probably too late it will hit the Thai economy pretty hard with the baht being robust it won't help the trade surplus won't go down because the Thai taxation system imposed on imports

[newbee2022]

Send a warning to Trump 🤗

[mfd101]

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

swift and strategic responses from Thailand are crucial.

Neither one of those is a notable strength in Thailand.

[hotchilli]

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Chamber vice chair Poj Aramwattananont expressed the pressing need for Thailand to review its import duty structure on US goods and to bolster imports from the US, particularly in energy, agriculture, and aircraft sectors. This strategy aims to decrease the trade surplus and align more closely with US interests amidst ongoing global trade tensions.

Thailand's been taking the urine for far too long.. import tariffs and the "luxury" tax has been a long standing joke.

[Wrwest]

I am not aware of how exactly Trump's illegal announced tariffs would affect Thailand. For those who do not know US law, the President is only authorized to deal with tariffs under a "national emergency" (otherwise it is the responsibility of Congress). Yes, Trump announced a "national emergency" so he could do this ... bit of an issue ... there is no "national emergency". So, the US stock market is reacting and Trump has retreated ... sorry, I mean announced a delay in implementation. For those tempted to think the stock market has nothing to do with them? A good portion of retirement saving accounts of the working middle class are invested in the US stock market. A further irony, for you consideration, ... Trump denouncing unfair trade with Mexico and Canada. The current trade deal was made by none other than? Right Trump in his first term announced as great by Trump at the time!

[trainman34014]

Some people might have to be woken up to deal with this and others might have to put down their Sweet Water Drinks and Doughnuts, both of these efforts will disrupt the normal slumber in Government Offices.

 

As for 'Navigating these Waters'....they would have trouble Navigating a Duck Pond !

[Srikcir]

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The development of such a strategy is intended to ensure that trade relations remain fair and beneficial to both nations, reported The Thaiger.

This is not possible so long as the value of Thai exports and services to the US exceeds the value of US exports and services to Thailand.

There will never be trade parity between the US and Thailand because of the physical and GPD per Capita disparity between the two nations.

Fact: the size of Thailand is about the same as Texas. Thailand's population is about the same as California. For trade parity America's cumulative 50 States will always need more imports and services than Thailand. If California were a country it have have the fifth largest economy in the world. There are no economic concessions that Thailand can make to the US to reach trade parity value (albeit too late that Thailand is buying Swedish jet fighters instead of US jet fighters thst could have soften the trade imbalance with the US). 

Thailand is not a member or partner in BRIC that Trump wants to tariff. Serendipity luck. 

In all likelihood within the next 2-3 months the USD will devalue in the international market as Trump's import tariffs, factory closures and higher unemployment impact the economy into a recession-like market while the baht remains fairly stable. 

[Confuscious]

49 minutes ago, trainman34014 said:

As for 'Navigating these Waters'....they would have trouble Navigating a Duck Pond !

But they are buying SubMarines from China.
Only need to decide who will produce the engines for the submarines.

[Tiger1980]

1 hour ago, Srikcir said:

This is not possible so long as the value of Thai exports and services to the US exceeds the value of US exports and services to Thailand.

There will never be trade parity between the US and Thailand because of the physical and GPD per Capita disparity between the two nations.

Fact: the size of Thailand is about the same as Texas. Thailand's population is about the same as California. For trade parity America's cumulative 50 States will always need more imports and services than Thailand. If California were a country it have have the fifth largest economy in the world. There are no economic concessions that Thailand can make to the US to reach trade parity value (albeit too late that Thailand is buying Swedish jet fighters instead of US jet fighters thst could have soften the trade imbalance with the US). 

Thailand is not a member or partner in BRIC that Trump wants to tariff. Serendipity luck. 

In all likelihood within the next 2-3 months the USD will devalue in the international market as Trump's import tariffs, factory closures and higher unemployment impact the economy into a recession-like market while the baht remains fairly stable. 

Is the population of California 70,000,000 ?

[Srikcir]

7 hours ago, Tiger1980 said:

Is the population of California 70,000,000 ?

Sorry about half Thailand at about 40 million. But that still presents a challenge to Thailand to even reach trade parity with California alone much less with the whole of the US.

Note the following: "Why the US Dollar is Crashing" that demonstrates the increasing volatility of the USD in the international currency market compared to the Thai baht.