Bangkok: 'Jatuporn' revealed that the tariff negotiations with the United States are nearing a conclusion. The Ministry of Commerce fully supports the information from 'Team Thailand' with a stance that takes into account the protection of the interests of Thai entrepreneurs. He advised the private sector to prepare to deal with this round of trade wars that will make world trade never the same again. Meanwhile, the FTI revealed that many industrial product groups will allow 0% imports of US products, but some industries still need time to adjust.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Chatuporn Buruspat, Minister of Commerce, revealed that the tariff negotiations with the United States are nearing a conclusion. The Ministry of Commerce has provided all kinds of information to 'Team Thailand', led by Mr. Pichai Chunhavajira, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, to be used in the negotiations. He confirmed that the government has a clear position to protect the interests of Thai entrepreneurs.
One of the key issues proposed by the Thai team is the adjustment of the calculation criteria for 'domestic value' (Regional Value Content: RVC) to reflect the proportion of actual economic value occurring within the country, which is an issue that the United States is focusing on. At the same time, the Ministry of Commerce also recommends that the private sector prepare to adapt to changes in trade rules and geopolitical situations, which could completely change the structure of global trade.
Mr. Nawa Chantanasurakon, Vice Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), revealed that the FTI has organized a meeting of various industry groups to determine their stance and make recommendations to support the negotiations. Many industry groups have agreed to reduce import duties on many items from the US to 0%, such as steel products and some types of medicines, while some industries, such as chemicals, have requested additional time to adjust.
'The technical information that the FTI has provided to the Thai team will help increase the weight in the negotiations and is expected to be able to negotiate a lower tax rate below 36%,' said Mr. Nawa.
Reporters reported that this evening, Team Thailand is scheduled to negotiate with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) again after the Thai side submitted a second round of proposals on July 17, proposing to open imports of US products at a low tariff rate of 0% for approximately 90% of more than 10,000 import and export items, while the US asked Thailand to expand market access, reduce non-tariff trade barriers (NTB) and support investment in the US, which the Thai side agreed to consider in the next round of negotiations.