18 hours Ago
Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala, a former finance minister and current head of an academic committee for the Palang Pracharath Party, has warned against the government's possible raising of the public debt ceiling to support the economy. He was responding to a remark made by the incumbent finance minister, Pichai Chunhavajira, in which he pointed to the need for the government to raise the debt ratio, currently set at 70% of gross domestic product (GDP), to encourage more domestic investment in the face of the US tariffs. Mr Thirachai said the government lacked fiscal discipline and was running up debt burdens.
It was budgeting for populist projects aimed primarily at wooing voters ahead of the next election. He warned of a "perfect storm", arguing the government is trying to finance policies that encourage cash spending, which doesn't necessarily increase the country's competitiveness. "They are incurring more debts which will become a burden for later generations.
They also are fostering the bad habit of leading people to expect financial assistance from the government," he said. Meanwhile, on Friday, Finance Minister Pichai convened a meeting to discuss upcoming negotiations with the US to lower tariffs after the recently announced hike. One proposal discussed to balance Thailand's trade surplus with the US was offering to import about 4 million tonnes more maize for the country's animal feed sector, said Mr Pichai, also a deputy prime minister.
Thailand will also reassure the US in the coming talks that it has a system in place for countries to trace the origin of products shipped from Thailand to ensure the kingdom isn't being used as a base through which foreign companies can attempt to reroute shipments to the US to avoid or be exempted from tariffs. Proposals to procure more goods from the US such as natural gas, petrochemicals and medium-range aircraft for the national-flag carrier, Thai Airways International, were also discussed, said Mr Pichai..
