Thailand, US writing ‘final paragraph’ of trade deal, says PM Anutin — SkimNews
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- Anutin Charnvirakul told attendees at the Forbes Global CEO Conference in Singapore that he received a letter from Trump last week confirming both countries are "at the final stage" of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, and that Trump wants Thai and US Trade Representative officials to "write up the final clause."
- Anutin said Trump indicated in the letter the deal could be signed "on my next visit to Asia," with Trump expected in November for the ASEAN Summit in the Philippines and the APEC summit in Shenzhen.
- Thai exports to the US currently face a 12.5% tariff tied to forced-labour measures, up from a temporary 10% tariff that expired in July, with a separate investigation into production overcapacity still pending.
- Thailand's goods trade surplus with the US reached US$71.7 billion in 2025, up 59.1% from 2024, while the US recorded a US$15 million services surplus with Thailand, reversing a US$5 million deficit the prior year.
- Thailand's trade deficit with China widened 59.3% in the first seven months of 2025 to US$55.13 billion, though Anutin said this would "greatly reduce" as Chinese direct investment flows into Thailand, including from automakers he met during a July visit.
- Anutin is pursuing Thailand's membership in the OECD to position the country as a "reliable place" for investors and urged foreign businesses to view Thailand as a logistics and distribution hub rather than a source of cheap labour.
- Anutin cited the October 2025 ceasefire agreement with Cambodia—signed in the presence of Trump and Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim in Kuala Lumpur—as putting Thailand "in the focus of (the) media" and boosting its investment appeal.
Why it matters: Thailand runs a US$71.7 billion goods surplus with the US and currently faces a 12.5% forced-labour tariff, so a finalized reciprocal trade deal would lock in terms for Thailand's largest export market while Trump uses the November Asia trip—ASEAN and APEC—as a signing-stage venue. Anutin's simultaneous pitch for OECD membership and against Thailand's "cheap labour" image signals the government is bundling the Trump-era deal into a broader repositioning of the economy toward higher-value foreign investment.
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