Thailand will negotiate with US on tariffs, says Paetongtarn

Thailand will negotiate with the United States on tariffs, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Thursday, hours after US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on US imports. "We won't let it get to where GDP will miss the target," Ms Paetongtarn told reporters. "We have a strong plan.

" "We have prepared several steps, including sending our permanent secretary to talk with them...



I think we can still negotiate." Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said the government was not surprised to be hit with tariffs, though the level was higher than anticipated. "We have to negotiate with understanding, not aggressive talk, but we have to talk which products they feel are unfair and we have to see wheather we can adjust," he said in a video interview posted online.

The reciprocal tariffs could shrink Thai gross domestic product (GDP) by as much as 1.2 percentage points from a forecast of 2.5%, with the Bank of Thailand's (BoT) one projected interest rate cut doing very little to shore up the economy, according to InnovestX Securities.

Thailand is on the "Dirty 15" list of countries that could be affected by Trump tariffs. On average, the US tariff on Thai imports is 2%, while Thailand levies an average tariff of 8% on American products. Meanwhile, Southeast Asian currencies and stocks declined on Thursday after Asian emerging nations were given some of the biggest tariff increases by President Trump.

The Thai baht slipped as much as 0.8% against the US dollar, while the Malaysian ringgit and South Korean won also weakened. Singapore's main stock index fell as much as 1.

3% before trimming losses, while Malaysia’s dropped 0.7%. Southeast Asian equities were already some of the world’s worst performers this year.

"The worst-hit region by this tariff announcement is undoubtedly Asian EM," ING Bank analysts Padhraic Garvey and Francesco Pesole wrote in a client note. Global risk-off should be a common theme, and this should be accompanied by lower market rates, they said. Southeast Asia was hit particularly hard by the reciprocal tariffs announced by Trump on Wednesday.

The US will increase levies on Vietnam’s exports 46%, Thailand’s by 36% and Indonesia’s by 32%. The region's largest trading partner — China — was heavily targeted, with Beijing now facing a cumulative 54% tariff. Investors are now awaiting any retaliatory response from tariff recipients, which may further escalate global trade tensions.

While nations such as Australia have explicitly ruled out retaliation, investors are watching a response from economies such as China..