The Thai government has issued an official statement in response to US President Donald Trump’s imposition of 36% reciprocal tariffs on Thai exports to the US market.
-Official statement-
The Royal Thai Government recognizes and understands the wish of the Government of the United States to rebalance trade relationships with various partner countries through its Reciprocal Trade and Tariffs policy, which will have widespread impacts on many countries.
The strategic framework under President Donald J. Trump is notably dynamic and represents a significant departure from previous administrations.
Most recently, on 3 April 2025 at 04.00 hrs. (Thailand’s local time) at the Liberation Day event, President Trump announced that the United States would impose a minimum 10% tariff on imports from all countries.
For countries with a trade surplus against the United States, and which are viewed by the U.S. as having unfair trade advantages — such as high tariffs, non-tariff barriers, and various fees — a country-specific retaliatory tariff will be applied at half the rate of what the United States exports face in those markets.
For Thailand, this retaliatory tariff has been set at 36%, effective from 9 April 2025 onwards. This tariff increase will inevitably impact all trading partners, particularly affecting American consumers’ purchasing power, who may not be able to absorb the rapid price increases.
In light of this, Thai exporters are encouraged to seek new potential markets to reduce reliance on a single market. The Thai Government is fully aware of these risks and has prepared mitigation measures to support affected Thai exporters who rely mainly on the United States’ market.
The Thai Government wishes to affirm that Thailand has expressed its readiness to engage in dialogue with the United States at the earliest opportunity to achieve a fair trade balance that minimizes disruption to both economies.
A dedicated United States Trade Policy Taskforce, established on 6 January 2025, prior to President Trump’s inauguration, has been working closely with both public and private sectors for the past three months to monitor developments and prepare a set of substantive proposals.
These proposals aim to incentivize the United States to enter negotiations with Thailand while minimizing impacts on Thai farmers, consumers, and relevant businesses.
At the same time, this moment may also serve as an opportunity for Thailand to restructure production, reduce costs, and enhance long-term competitiveness in certain industries.
Thailand remains firmly committed to building a stable and balanced trade relationship with the United States.
We are well-positioned to be a part of “Friend Shoring”, by strengthening bilateral cooperation in mutually beneficial industries for sustainable global growth. For instance, in agriculture and food processing, Thailand can import the United States’ agricultural products for value-added processing for re-export to the global market.
In the high-tech sector, Thailand’s role as a major global producer of hard disk drives is strategically important to the United States’ data center and AI industries.
In closing, the Thai Government sincerely hopes that the United States under President Trump’s leadership will pursue long-term shared economic stability.
Thailand reaffirms its commitment to being a reliable ally and economic partner, and will actively promote cooperation to jointly strengthen both countries’ agriculture and future-focused industries, helping to mitigate the impacts on both economies through constructive and timely dialogue.
