Negotiators gear up for key trade talks with US

Thailand is poised to hold talks with Trump administration officials next week to secure relief from a planned 36% reciprocal tariff on its goods, with officials finalising a set of proposals including to cut its US$46 billion trade surplus with the United States.

- MONGKOL BANGPRAPA

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira, together with Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan, will lead a Thai negotiating team at the talks expected with the US side in Washington, DC, on April 21, said government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub yesterday.

The finance minister plans to travel first to Seattle, where he will meet business operators in agricultural, industrial, and other investment sectors from April 17.

The commerce minister would later join the finance minister on April 20 and then travel to Washington, DC, for the talks with the Trump administration the following day, the spokesman said.