FORMER finance minister Korn Chatikavanij said in a Facebook post early this morning (July 8) that the national budget for fiscal 2026 should be reviewed as Thailand is now facing worst possible US tariff increase of 36% from August 1 as announced by US President Donald Trump a few hours earlier, Naewna newspaper said.
This is the worst possible negotiation result because in addition to not reducing anything from what the US announced 90 days earlier, it is a higher rate than Vietnam, he said, with the neighbouring country having negotiated to reduce their tariff from 46% to 20% while US exports face no tariffs.
“Negotiating with Trump is very difficult. America holds the upper hand over us. And while our government is looking for a win-win outcome, he thinks we have taken advantage of the US for a long time. It’s time for them to win alone to compensate – our team doesn’t understand this game,” Korn said.
The reason Vietnam dared to reduce tariffs on US imports to 0% is because it is both more competitive, and ready to compete, than Thailand in every industry.
“The question is, in the past negotiations, who are we still trying to protect? Is it worth the suffering of exporters? And the loss of national income?” he asked.
Korn also asked whether the government has prepared a plan to deal with this situation while recommending that the first step should be reviewing the 2026 national budget entirely, both in terms of income sources and spending.
If nothing is done Thai people will suffer greatly, he warned.
Secondly the government should watch out for an impact on current account balance because if the country starts having continuous deficits while foreign investment decreases, the issue of stability will become important.
At the same time a new governor of Bank of Thailand is being chosen with the vision and attitude of the chosen candidate having a great impact on confidence.
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Top and Front Page: Former finance minister Korn Chatikavanij. Photos: Thai Rath
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