Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira announced on Thursday that a temporary reprieve from the U.S. on newly imposed tariffs, offers Thailand a crucial window to formulate an apt response.
In a bid to heighten its pressure on China, U.S. President Donald Trump has opted to temporarily lower trade tariffs, including a significant 36% levy on Thai exports, for a 90-day period. Pichai remarked on the country’s intention to manage trade imbalances more effectively.
A decline in exports could potentially harm Thailand’s manufacturing sector and employment levels, necessitating strategic mitigating actions, according to Pichai. Previously, he indicated that these tariffs could potentially reduce Thailand’s economic growth by a full percentage point, an outlook shared across Southeast Asia, where Thailand’s economy ranks second largest.
To forge a balanced trade relationship, Thailand aims to boost imports from the United States and reduce its own tariff barriers, as part of ongoing negotiations for more favorable terms.
The previous report from the Thai government indicated that the kingdom aims to boost imports of corn, soybeans, crude oil, and ethane to diminish its trade surplus with the United States
Meanwhile, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) took steps this week to curb stock market volatility by adjusting trading limits and temporarily banning short-selling.
Thailand’s SET Index at the opening session was at 1,135.13 points, increased 46.95 points or 4.31%.
