Thailand will not only engage in tariff negotiations with the United States, but will also talk about building a new economic future together, by offering Thailand as neutral ground for conflict resolution, said Pansak Vinyaratn, chief policy advisor to Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
As a former economic advisor to the late prime minister Chatichai Choonhavan, and several other governments, Pansak said he was aware of the tariff issue and trade relations with the US during the US presidential election and has prepared to cope with it, after reading a book entitled “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of A Family and Culture in Crisis”, written by US Vice President JD Vance. He maintains that Thailand must respond to the US and make some proposals.
As far as Thai-US relations are concerned, he said that Thailand must not only think about give and take, because ”we are a small cricket… We must think about what we can offer, so that they feel we are concerned about their people,” he said.
Citing OTOP products in the large US market, he said that Thailand could import products from the US and then offer them as souvenirs to foreign tourists visiting Thailand, noting that tourists may love US-made souvenirs, but don’t want to travel to New York or Los Angeles to buy them.
He also floated the idea of making Bangkok into a hub of high-quality food, like Tokyo, by importing quality meat from the US for use in Thai dishes for tourists.
Pansak singled out Thai food, saying that, of the production processes of all industries, food is one product which is difficult to counterfeit, particularly regarding the food’s taste and texture.
The economic advisor also pointed out that a 50% tax on apples imported from the US is too much and should be reduced, adding that imposing import tariffs is not necessary for all products.
“I dare say that we are concerned about the American people, their difficulties, because the American economic philosophy is too rigid,” said Pasak, adding that many Americans have lost their jobs and are struggling.
“This does not bode well for Thailand because, whenever a superpower has domestic problems, it will affect international relations and pose a danger to the world,” he said, adding “we want to see America as a sensible superpower which has a future.”
