Thailand will negotiate with the United States on tariffs, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Thursday, hours after US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on imports from many countries to the US.
“We have a strong plan,” Ms Paetongtarn told reporters.
“We have prepared several steps, including sending our permanent secretary to talk with them. … I think we can still negotiate.”
Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said the government was not surprised to be hit with tariffs, though the level was higher than anticipated.
The reciprocal tariffs on Thailand, which will take effect on April 9, will be 37%, according to an annex in the executive order issued by Trump on Wednesday.
He displayed a chart showing a rate of 36% for Thailand, but it emerged later that the rates on the chart for a number of countries were one percentage point lower than the official ones shown in the annex.
The US is Thailand’s largest export market with electronics, machinery and agricultural products topping the list of goods.
Thailand is on the “Dirty 15” list of countries that could be affected by Trump tariffs. On average, the US tariff on Thai imports is 2%, while Thailand levies an average tariff of 8% on American products.
