Sirikanya Tansakun, a lawmaker and deputy leader of the People’s Party.
BANGKOK: Thailand’s main opposition party called for an economic stimulus package to cope with the US tariff after Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra signalled that trade talks to secure relief from the levy have been stalled.
The stimulus measures should include soft loans to local exporters, subsidies for farmers and financial aid to Thai industries to deal with the 36% reciprocal levy threatened by the United States, said Sirikanya Tansakun, a lawmaker and deputy leader of the People’s Party.
The government can also rework its 3.78 trillion baht budget plan for the fiscal year starting Oct 1 to shield the economy or resort to a one-off borrowing plan as it did during the Covid-19 pandemic, Sirikanya said.
If need be, the prime minister should be willing to raise the legal ceiling of public debt from the current 70% of gross domestic product, she said.
The Finance Ministry aims to inject over 500 billion baht into the economy to support growth, with the spending to be focused on stimulating consumption, investment and providing soft loans, The Nation reported, citing finance chief Pichai Chunhavajira.
The postponement of Thai-US tariff negotiations previously scheduled for this week has raised questions about the government’s strategy to deal with tariff impact and the United States concerns over the South-East Asian nation’s trade surplus of US$46bil.
No new dates have been set for talks, and Washington wants the South-East Asian nation to address a set of “issues” related to trade before talks are held, Thai officials said Tuesday.
In contrast, India, Vietnam and Indonesia have already held negotiations with the United States to secure relief from the hefty tariffs threatened by President Donald Trump.
Sirikanya said the government should lose no time in starting negotiations to get the tariff lower and prevent the economy from being hit hard.
The United States was Thailand’s largest export market last year with electronics, machinery and agriculture products topping the list of shipments.
“The economic wound from the US tariff on Thailand is expected to be wide, deep and long,” Sirikanya said.
“The government should be better prepared to help Thai people and give confidence to investors. Don’t just wait and see, or a lot of people will get hurt.”
The Thai government has said the higher-than-expected levy on its shipments to the United States could trim at least one percentage point of its growth this year if it’s not negotiated down.
It’ll need to address US concerns over currency manipulation and certificate of origin misuse, something officials have said they would do. While Thailand is taking steps to appease the United States, Paetongtarn’s administration is also wary of antagonising China, its largest trading partner. — Bloomberg
