Thailand’s Intention Minister Pichai Election in Bangkok. File photo | Photo Credit: Reuters
The country’s Finance Minister said on Tuesday (June 17, 2025), this week Thailand’s formal trade proposal will be submitted in the US this week, in which the first round of discussion will be prepared to be online, as it wants to face the threat of high American tariffs.
Trump’s mutual tariff: There is a complete list of targeted countries here
The South East Asian nation faces 36% of the US tariffs on its exports, if a decrease cannot be interacted before the 90-day break, which caps President Donald Trump’s “mutual” tariff to 10% termination in July.
The formal trade talks with the United States will begin this week, starting with technical discussions at the official level, Finance Minister Pichai Election told reporters.
He said, “The latest formal proposal will be submitted after these discussions this week. After that, the first round of discussion with the US will be held online,” he said, without any date.
After the initial negotiations, any possible in-practice meetings will be considered, Sri Pichai said.
The formal proposal to be presented will be under the main criteria declared earlier, he said.
Last month, Sri Pichai stated that the country had made a proposal to Washington, which aims to address trade imbalances, and involves measures to increase market access and deal with transmission violations for American exports, as well as Thai investment that will create American jobs.
On Monday, the Commerce Minister expressed confidence that the two countries may agree on good conditions on tariffs, possibly 10%less.
The United States was Thailand’s largest export market last year, 18.3% of the total shipment of $ 55 billion. Washington has placed its trade deficit with Thailand in $ 45.6 billion.
A meeting will be held on Wednesday to consider a 157 billion baht ($ 4.8 billion) Economic Promotion Project, Pichai said, to support a dull economy, which can grow more than just 1% this year due to the influence of American tariffs.
Pichai also said that it is open to work with any candidate selected as the next Central Bank Governor from the list of applicants, leaving the decision to the selection committee.
He said that he is already connecting closely with the central bank on various associate matters.
Published – 17 June, 2025 12:30 PM IST