US and Thailand strengthen trade, resolve issues
The United States and Thailand met recently under the U.S.-Thailand Trade and Investment Framework Agreement to discuss ways to deepen trade ties and address outstanding bilateral trade issues between them. The two sides reaffirmed the importance of their longstanding relationship and of working together to expand trade.
The United States updated Thailand on the Trump Administration’s trade agenda and the priority it places on promoting fair and reciprocal trade, as well as strengthening ties with countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
The United States emphasized the importance of Thailand dismantling barriers to U.S. exports and reducing the U.S. trade deficit with Thailand. In particular, the two sides discussed barriers to U.S. exports related to agriculture, customs, intellectual property, labor and other issues, and agreed to continue their dialogue to resolve these issues. The United States and Thailand also discussed broader regional and multilateral engagement, including Thailand’s efforts to implement the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, and ways to work together to advance work under the ASEAN-U.S. Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement.
Acting Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific Karl Ehlers led the U.S. interagency team for the meeting, which included officials from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Labor and State. Ministry of Commerce Permanent Secretary Nuntawan Sakuntanaga led the Thailand delegation, which included senior officials from the Ministries of Commerce, Public Health, Agriculture, Labor and Foreign Affairs.
Background
The United States and Thailand have strong trade ties, which extend back to the 1833 U.S.-Thailand Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations. Thailand is the United States’ 21st largest goods trading partner and two-way goods trade between them totaled $42 billion in 2017. The U.S. goods trade deficit with Thailand was $20.4 billion in 2017, a 6.9 percent increase over 2016.