Thai economist calls for setting up ‘war room’ to cope with Trump’s 36% tariff
This report was originally published by www.thainewsroom.com
A BANK of Thailand Monetary Policy Committee member suggested Thailand urgently set up a “war room” to cope with a raft of punishing tariffs US President Donald Trump announced earlier today (Apr.3) targeting countries around the world with Thailand hit with 36%, Naewna newspaper said.
Dr. Santitarn Sathienthai, who is also an adviser on future economy to Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), said in a Facebook post that this step was like an earthquake rocking the whole world with the aftershocks being severe and complicated.
This is because many countries may opt for a hard line and set up a tariff wall with trade battles raging back and forth causing the global trade to deteriorate more than expected.
Some countries risk falling into a recession with the risk of the US itself doing so having now increased.
“As the American market seems to have become a walled city where goods cannot be imported or are more difficult to enter, every country will think similarly, that is to export to other markets.
“Therefore, competition will intensify for both Thai exports to third markets and goods imported from other countries that may flood Thailand,” he said.
The investment Thailand gained from Chinese companies trying to dodge the US-China trade war may be suspended or delayed because Thailand itself is currently subject to high tariff, although Vietnam has been hit with a higher rate of 46 percent.
Even so there are still many uncertainties, such as how much negotiations could reduce these tariff walls but the uncertainty will lead to businesses around the world stopping and waiting to adjust their plans with this having an immediate negative impact on the economy and investment.
Dr. Santitarn warned that Trump’s tariff will have a significant impact on Thailand, and more so than most people ever thought. For this reason it is necessary to set up a special war room team comprising members from both public and private sectors to handle the issue with this being of special urgency.
Businesses themselves will have to prepare for the impact and adjust their strategies to find opportunities in the crisis because the impact of this shock on the global economy may not just be short-term as it could stretch long term, he added.
Photo: Naewna
This report was originally published by www.thainewsroom.com
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