US auto tariffs to impact Thai auto parts exports: finance minister
Thailand seeks to direct ship auto parts to US as production shifts take time
[BANGKOK] Thailand’s exports of auto parts will be affected by newly imposed US tariffs, the finance minister said on Thursday (Mar 27), adding he hoped to negotiate to send parts directly to America rather than via manufacturers in other countries.
Thailand is South-east Asia’s biggest autos production centre and an export base for some of the world’s top automakers, including Toyota and Honda. US President Donald Trump has announced a 25 per cent tariff on imported vehicles, expanding a global trade war and prompting criticism and threats of retaliation from affected US allies.
The tariffs will reduce exports of auto parts from Thailand to other countries that produce cars, Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira told reporters. “We’ll have to see how much it will affect us,” he said, adding he hoped Thailand could negotiate to ship auto parts to the US, as it would take time for companies to shift production facilities to America to avoid the tariffs. “It would be a good solution if we can also send parts to America,” he said.
Yeap Swee Chuan, chief executive of AAPICO Hitech, one of Thailand’s largest auto parts manufacturers, said the impact of the tariffs would likely be limited.
“We supply to most Japanese companies locally,” he told Reuters, adding that those vehicles were typically not exported to the US “For the Thai companies, we are quite OK.”
Only a small percentage of AAPICO’s production was currently going directly to the US, and tariffs on auto parts would make it difficult to send parts there, Yeap Swee Chuan said. As for other exports that could be hit with tariffs that Trump has said he will announce next week, Pichai said they might not be impacted immediately.
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“We still have time to see which ones will be affected and how we will negotiate. Let’s wait and see,” he said. Thailand is worried it could be hit with US tariffs due to its large trade surplus with the US. REUTERS
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