BANGKOK (Bloomberg): Thailand will step up a crackdown on the practice of foreign companies circumventing high US tariffs by claiming false certificates of origin as it prepares for negotiations with the Trump administration to secure relief from a 36% tariff hit.
The South-East Asian nation, which had an almost US$46 billion trade surplus with the US, plans to add more products to a watchlist of 49 goods as false claims of origin are among the key concerns of US authorities, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement Friday.
The government has identified about nine more groups of products deemed at high risk of circumventing the rule of origin by companies using Thailand as a base for re-exports to the US, Director General of the Department of Foreign Trade Arada Fuangtong said in the statement. The products include steel, copper wire and aluminium among others, she said.
The clamp down will address a key concern of US Customs and help improve buyers’ confidence, Arada said, adding that heightened surveillance will also help minimize the hit to local manufacturers.
China has emerged as Thailand’s largest trading partner in recent years, with the trade deficit with Beijing ballooning to $45 billion in 2024 from about $19.6 billion in 2018, according to official data.
In contrast, Thailand’s trade surplus with the US swelled to $46 billion last year from about $17 billion in 2018.
Thailand is preparing to send a delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira to the US in coming weeks for talks to lower the tariff.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s administration plans to placate the Trump administration with proposals to buy more natural gas, farm goods and jets besides lowering import duties and rescinding non-tariff barriers to trade.
The bid to deter companies from misusing the local content rule will be cheered by Thai companies, who have long been complaining of dumping of cheap Chinese made goods in recent years.
President Donald Trump’s move to impose a record 145% tariff on Chinese goods has stoked concerns among local manufacturers of an even greater influx of cheap products.
A survey of chief executives of Thai companies released Wednesday showed that almost 71% of the participants were worried about cheap Chinese goods flooding Thai markets, leading to lower use of production facilities or more factory closures.
The Department of Foreign Trade said it will become the sole authority to issue the so-called certificates of origin for the goods on the watchlist for shipments to the US. Currently, the Federation of Thai Industries and the Thai Chamber of Commerce are also authorized to issue such certificates.
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