BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s government supports increased U.S. imports of necessary goods as a way to reduce the country’s trade surplus with the United States, the finance minister said on Monday.Authorities will also talk with U.S. business people in Thailand to find ways to ease any impacts of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies, Pichai Chunhavajira told reporters.
“This will help create understanding with the United States that most Thai exports to the country are investments by U.S. companies based in Thailand,” he said.
Thailand had a trade surplus last year of $35.4 billion with the United States, according to the Thai commerce ministry. The United States was Thailand’s largest export market last year, accounting for 18.3% of total shipments, or $54.96 billion.
The commerce ministry has cited uncertainty over U.S. trade policies as a challenge to increasing Thai exports.
Trump has ordered U.S. federal agencies to complete comprehensive reviews of a range of trade issues by April 1, including analyses of persistent U.S. trade deficits.
He has imposed tariffs on China and signalled the 27-nation European Union would be his next target, but suspended his threat of 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada for 30 days.
Last week, a Thai government official said U.S. ethane imports would be increased by at least 1 million tons, starting from the second quarter, to try to reduce the trade surplus.
Pichai also said the government wanted to drive economic growth to above 3% this year by accelerating investment, and said he supported the use of digital assets as funding sources to boost the economy.
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring, Kitiphong Thaichareon and Thanadech Staporncharnchai; Editing by Martin Petty and John Mair)
