Thai acting PM wants ‘better deal’ than Trump threatened tariff

[BANGKOK] Thailand’s acting prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai said on Tuesday he wanted a “better deal” than the 36 per cent tariff Donald Trump threatened to impose in a letter to the country.

Bangkok was hit with the same rate when the US president announced his initial wave of levies at the start of April, but has been paying a 10 per cent standby rate as negotiators raced for a deal before a July 9 deadline.

Trump sent letters to more than a dozen countries on Monday, renewing his threat of high tariffs but extending the negotiation deadline to August 1.

“The most important thing is that we maintain good relations with the US,” Phumtham told reporters in Bangkok. “Once we reassess the situation, I hope we can secure a better deal.”

While the toll announced for Thailand remains the same, Trump has reduced the highest threatened rate for some of the United States’ other trading partners. AFP