Thailand’s export growth slows as US tariffs bite

[BANGKOK] Thailand’s exports grew at their slowest pace in nearly a year due to a stronger baht and the impact of tariffs from the United States, the commerce ministry said on Wednesday (Sep 24), but it said that it could still exceed its full-year target.

Customs-cleared exports rose 5.8 per cent in August from a year earlier, the ministry said, falling short of analysts’ expectations.

The reading for August compared with a forecast 9.5 per cent year-on-year increase in a Reuters poll, and followed a rise of 11 per cent in July.

“The growth was the slowest since September last year and means we are starting to see slowing exports to the United States,” Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, head of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, told a press conference.

In August, exports to the United States, Thailand’s largest market, jumped 12.8 per cent from a year earlier, but would slow in the last four months, he said.

The US set a 19 per cent tariff on imported goods from Thailand, lower than the 36 per cent rate announced earlier and in line with other countries in the region.

Shipments to China rose 5.9 per cent, ministry data showed.

In the first eight months of 2025, exports, a key driver of the economy, rose 13.3 per cent from a year earlier.

The ministry is maintaining its forecast for export growth of 2 to 3 per cent for the year, although there is a chance that it will be higher thanks to the strong start.

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In August, imports rose 15.8 per cent from a year earlier, higher than a forecast rise of 9.2 per cent.

That led to a trade deficit of US$1.96 billion in August, lower than the expected US$0.7 billion surplus.

Rice volume exports fell 16.9 per cent annually. REUTERS