BANGKOK, Oct 28 (TNA) – The decision of the United States to exclude Thailand from its Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) had nothing to do with the Thai government’s resolution to ban three toxic farm chemicals, Deputy Prime Minister/Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said.
Mr Jurin made his comment during a news program on the MCOT HD TV channel regarding the decision of US President Donald Trump to suspend GSP trade preference worth US$1.3 billion or 39.65 billion baht, affecting the Thai exports of seafood, vegetables, fruits, seeds, sugar, soybean sauce, kitchenware, plywood and processed wood next year.
The Thai private sector had expected the decision by the US which cited labour issues such as a ban on migrant workers’ demand to form their labour unions in Thailand, Mr Jurin said.
The value of Thailand’s exports that had exercised the GSP of the US was about US$1.3 billion and they would face 4-5% tariffs instead of being exempted from tariffs, he said.
“The actual damage to Thailand does not reach US$1.3 billion or 39.65 billion baht. That is the export value. In fact, the exports will face tariffs worth 1.5-1.8 billion baht. This will be the burden of Thai exporters,” Mr Jurin said.
The Commerce Ministry had prepared itself for the US trade measure and would lead relevant government officials and operators to find new markets and revive previously lost markets such as Turkey, Germany, India, China and the Middle East and Sri Lanka, he said.
Mr Jurin said that concerned authorities initially found that the GSP suspension did not result from the Thai government’s decision to ban toxic farm chemicals namely paraquat, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos. (TNA)
