Thailand needs to quickly reduce its trade surplus with the US by any means possible, says Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira.
He said Thailand should import more items from the US for which there is substantial demand, such as agricultural products, automobiles, electronics and liquefied natural gas (LNG), which the country uses to generate electricity.
In the agricultural sector, Thailand must accept being both an exporter and importer of various products as changes in the local production structure mean raw materials are imported for processing into agricultural products, such as animal feed and food for people, said Mr Pichai.
He also discussed Thailand's potential in the global canned tuna industry, stating raw tuna supply is insufficient, making imports necessary.
Thailand could import tuna from the US for processing and export it not only to the US, but also to other countries, maximising the use of cold storage and processing facilities available, said Mr Pichai.
Regarding LNG, he said Thailand produces the gas in the Gulf of Thailand and imports it from Myanmar and other countries, but these gas reserves are dwindling.
The US has abundant LNG at competitive prices, and any purchases from that market should be made at reasonable prices, said Mr Pichai.
"Reducing the trade surplus with the US to a level they find acceptable is key. The closer to zero, the better. This can be achieved in two ways: maintaining the same size of the economy [bilateral trade volume], and increasing imports from the US," he said.
"We want to increase the size of the economy, with both imports and exports rising."
Mr Pichai said the effect of the US tariff increase is significant and involves several complex steps.
The tariff hikes have an international impact, affecting Thailand and the US, as well as Thailand's trade relations with other countries, which in turn trade with the US, creating multiple layers of impact, he said.
Mr Pichai said if this issue is not resolved, it could negatively impact Thailand's GDP, leading to fewer jobs and reduced exports.
He said retaliatory measures are not the correct approach, as Thailand is a small country and mishandling this issue could reduce Thailand's GDP by at least 1 percentage point.
