Thailand is set to submit its formal trade proposal to the United States this week, in a bid to avoid potential US tariffs. The country’s finance minister said on Tuesday that the first round of discussions will be held virtually.
Thailand faces a 36% US tariff on its exports if a reduction can’t be negotiated before a moratorium expires in July.
Date Not Revealed
Formal trade negotiations with the United States will commence this week, starting with technical discussions at the official level, Pichai Chunhavajira told reporters.
“The latest formal proposal will be submitted following these discussions this week. After that, the first round of discussions with the US will be conducted online,” he said, without giving a date.
Any potential in-person meetings would be considered after the initial talks, Pichai said.
The formal proposal to be submitted would be under the main criteria previously announced, he added.
Last month, Pichai said the country had submitted a proposal to Washington that aims to address the trade imbalance, and includes measures to enhance market access for US exports and tackle transshipment violations, as well as Thai investment that would create US jobs.
Border Headache
Meaning, the dispute between Thailand and Cambodia is far from over as Phnom Penh said on Sunday it had asked the International Court of Justice to resolve its border disputes with Bangkok, after a flare-up led the neighbours to mobilise troops on both sides of the border.
A Cambodian soldier was killed in a brief skirmish on May 28 in a confrontation over the 820-km (510-mile) frontier, parts of which are undemarcated and claimed by both nations.
Talks on border demarcation over the weekend between officials from both countries were inconclusive with both sides pledging to de-escalate tensions and continue dialogue.
Cambodia said in a statement that it had proposed to Thailand the two countries should jointly bring the four dispute areas to the ICJ and that these areas should no longer be included in future bilateral talks on border demarcation.
Cambodia also said that it would begin legal proceedings at the ICJ independently, despite Thailand’s rejection of the court’s jurisdiction.
(With inputs from Reuters)
