Will Thailand win or lose in US-China trade war?
WITH the retaliatory trade action by 2 economic superpowers US and China being watched worldwide, Thailand too is estimating any gain or loss it would chalk up should these tensions accelerate further, Thai News Agency reported today (April 17).
Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak has ordered the Commerce Ministry to study both positive and negative impact on Thai trade in what is looming as a US-China trade war.
This especially applies to Thai components which are part of Chinese production chain for export to US, such as computers and electronic and electrical integrated circuits, which are worth US$3.6 billion or 1.5% of Thailand’s total exports.
Bank of Thailand Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob said if China is unable to export its products to US, this will lead to Thailand also seeing its export of primary and intermediate goods dropping.
He warned that Thailand has to beware of Chinese goods being dumped both here and across the region.
Another viewpoint is that there could be a trade opportunity for Thai exporters to ship more goods to US, such as electronics and electrical products which amount to 48% of total Thai exports to US.
Thailand could also benefit from exporting more products to China, such as fruit, lentils cereals and pork, which are the products China is planning to levy more taxes on to hit back at US.
Now that Songkran is over, the Commerce Ministry is getting ready to arrange a meeting with Finance and Agricultural and Cooperatives ministries as well as the Bank of Thailand to estimate the total impact, while also hoping that this trade dispute ends well.
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Top: Thai goods heading for overseas markets. Photo: Paul_the_Seeker (CC-By-2.0)
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