Instantaneous and substantive reactions from several countries in Asean and Asia to the US tariff woes have been compared by a critic of the government to a state of being aloof and confused.
Sirikanya Tansakun, MP of the opposition People's Party, on Saturday outlined the reactions from several countries in the Asean bloc and Asia as a whole, which are among those slapped with varying tariff rates.
Vietnam has opened a round of talks with Washington to address trade imbalances, which received a signal of approval from US President Donald Trump, she said. Cambodia, meanwhile, has slashed tariffs on imports from the US to 5% to facilitate trade negotiations with Washington, she added.
South Korea has released an emergency economic relief package for businesses hit hard by the US tariff, such as the auto industry, while the Prime Minister of Singapore has warned its citizens about the consequences of the tariff rises, she noted.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, meanwhile, has downplayed the extent of the US tariff rises and told people not to worry, Ms Sirikanya said. The issue of who will lead the talks with the US to solve the tariff issue has also been a subject of confusion, she added.
Ms Paetongtarn reportedly said Pansak Winyarat, chairman of the prime minister's policy advisory panel, will head the team while Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira has insisted he will assume the role.
The commercial permanent secretary has also been earmarked to lead the working team on tariffs.
Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan has made it known that he has called Washington to thrash out the tariff wrangle, but no one answered the phone, Ms Sirikanya said.
Government spokesman Jirayu Huangsap on Saturday dismissed the criticism by the opposition that the coalition was acting too slowly to address the tariffs announced last week by Mr Trump.
Mr Jirayu said the government had anticipated additional US tariffs on imports from Thailand three months ago and had scheduled a meeting on Jan 8 to formulate a solution.
Thailand has been slapped with a 36% tariff by the Trump administration, which is higher than many expected.
The opposition recently warned that if the tariff issue went unaddressed, small- and medium-seized enterprises in the supply chain would face trouble.
The opposition said the government was fumbling and working out of sync to counter the tariff issue. It called for a special task force to be established with Ms Paetongtarn at the helm to deal with the problem.
In response, Mr Jirayu said the government has been closely monitoring the pending tariff changes since the end of last year.
Ms Paetongtarn on Thursday also pledged to forge a state-private sector cooperation initiative to counter the tariffs issue, he said.
The government would talk to Washington at the first available opportunity to achieve fairer trade between the two countries, he said.
Mr Jirayu added the government has also prepared remedial measures for Thai exporters to the US market.
