DE FACTO Pheu Thai boss Thaksin Shinawatra said late last night (July 9) that the letter US President Donald Trump sent to Thailand on Monday (July 7) setting August 1 as the new deadline to conclude a deal on 36 percent tariff he is imposing on the country is a business negotiation tactic, Amarin TV said.
The former prime minister said he has talked to people close to Trump asking them why the result for Thailand remained the same with the 36 percent levy unchanged from when it was first announced on April 2.
They said that this is a business negotiation tactic with Trump playing hardball first and will then negotiate to get the most advantageous result.
It would be normal for Thailand to lose some ground but not to any extent at all, he said.
Asked by reporters whether his connections in Washington were still strong, he replied, “I didn’t go there, I didn’t leave Thailand. So how did we talk? We just talked a little bit via Zoom.”
Questioned about economic damage kicking in this month with consumer confidence having dropped, Thaksin pointed out that many countries have been affected not just Thailand.
Moreover, during the three to four holidays starting today, Asalha Puja Day, a committee will be holding talks to find a solution.
Asked whether there is still a chance that the tariff would be reduced over the next 20 days, Thaksin explained that Thailand sent a new proposal to the US trade representative but Trump sent this letter without a deal being finalised but this is a fine because there is time to reach an agreement within the new timeframe.
Trump hits Brazil with 50% tariff, orders unfair trade practices probe
Meanwhile US President Donald Trump turned his trade ire against Brazil on Wednesday (July 9), threatening Latin America’s largest economy with a punitive 50 percent tariff on exports to the US and ordering an unfair trade practices investigation that could lead to even higher tariffs, according to a Reuters report published by Yahoo!Finance
Trump set the Aug. 1 tariff rate – far higher than the 10 percent duty imposed on Brazil on April 2 – in a tariff letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, that vented anger over what he called the “Witch Hunt” trial of Lula’s right-wing predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.
Criticising what he said were Brazil’s attacks on free elections and speech and “SECRET and UNLAWFUL Censorship Orders to US Social Media platforms,” Trump also ordered the US Trade Representative’s office to open an unfair trade practices investigation into Brazil’s policies under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
The probe could lead to further tariffs on Brazilian exports.
Trump’s broadside against Brazil came as his administration was inching closer to a deal with its biggest trading partner bloc, the European Union.
Trump earlier on his Truth Social media platform issued Aug. 1 tariff notices to seven minor trading partners: a 20% tariff on goods from the Philippines, 30% on goods from Sri Lanka, Algeria, Iraq, and Libya, and 25% on Brunei and Moldova.
Those countries are bit players in the US trade deficit, accounting for just under $15 billion in US imports in 2024.
Brazil is the 15th largest US trading partner, with total two-way trade of $92 billion in 2024, and a rare $7.4 billion US trade surplus.
But Trump’s letter to Lula contained the same language as previous form letters describing Brazil’s trading relationship as “very unfair”.
The latest letters add to 14 others issued earlier in the week including 25% tariffs for powerhouse US suppliers South Korea and Japan, which are also to take effect August 1 barring any trade deals reached before then.
They were issued a day after Trump said he was broadening his trade war by imposing a 50% tariff on imported copper and would soon introduce long-threatened levies on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. Trump’s rapid-fire tariff moves have cast a shadow over the global economic outlook, paralysing business decision-making.
Negotiations with EU
Trump said trade talks have been going well with China and the European Union, which is the biggest bilateral trading partner of the US.
Trump said he would “probably” tell the EU within two days what rate it could expect for its exports to the US, adding that the 27-nation bloc had become much more cooperative
“They treated us very badly until recently, and now they’re treating us very nicely. It’s like a different world, actually,” he said.
EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said good progress had been made on a framework trade agreement and a deal may even be possible within days.
Sefcovic told EU lawmakers he hoped that EU negotiators could finalise their work soon, with additional time now from the extension of a US deadline to August 1 from July 9.
“I hope to reach a satisfactory conclusion, potentially even in the coming days,” Sefcovic said.
However, Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti had earlier warned that talks between the two sides were “very complicated” and could continue right up to the deadline.
CAPTION:
Top and Front Page: De facto Pheu Thai boss Thaksin Shinawatra talking to reporters last night, left, and file photo of US President Donald Trump, right. Composite photo: Amarin TV
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