Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will meet for talks with US representatives to try to restore Thailand's suspended trade benefits at the 35th Asean Summit in Bangkok next month, Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said on Tuesday.
Mr Somkid was speaking after a meeting with Michael Heath, the US embassy's chargé d' affaires and acting ambassador, to discuss a range of issues, including the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) suspension, at Government House.
Mr Somkid quoted Mr Heath as saying the suspension was not final.
Mr Somkid said that Thailand and the US have been friends for a long time, and the issue is negotiable. The Asean Summit should provide an opportunity for Gen Prayut to discuss the matter with the US delegation, which will also comprise American investors.
He said the discussion will focus on the broader strategy for Thai-US cooperation, rather than singling out the halting of the trade benefits.
Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai said that US Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, will take part in the Indo-Pacific Business Forum during the Asean Summit and related summits in Bangkok, and his Thai counterpart Jurin Laksanawisit will take the opportunity to raise the GSP suspension issue with Mr Ross.
Mr Don added that the Thai embassy in the US will also pursue talks over the issue with the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR).
Gen Prayut urged the public not to worry too much about the issue and said Thailand will negotiate with the US to restore the GSP eligibility of its products as swiftly as possible, while looking for new markets for Thai exports as a long-term solution.
The government will also look at measures to help the private sector, set to be affected by the loss of GSP privileges, the prime minister said, while insisting that the suspension had nothing to do with the ban on the use of the herbicide glyphosate.
The National Hazardous Substances Committee last week reclassified the status of three farm chemicals, including glyphosate, from Type 3 toxic substances to Type 4, which prohibits their production, import, export or possession.
Effective on Dec 1, the ban will cover the herbicides paraquat and glyphosate and the pesticide chlorpyrifos.
Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Jurin said a meeting of economic ministers chaired by Prime Minister Prayut yesterday had instructed the Foreign Affairs, Labour and Commerce ministries to petition the US to review the GSP suspension.
Mr Jurin said the suspension means Thailand can still export goods to the US, though they will face import tariffs of about 1.5 to 1.8 billion baht annually.
He added that a joint committee of the Commerce Ministry and the private sector have come up with measures to boost Thai exports to 10 countries as a long-term solution. They include China, India, South Africa, Japan, South Korea, Germany, and countries in the Middle East and in Europe.
The US said last Friday it would suspend $1.3 billion (around 39.2 billion baht) of benefits under the GSP scheme, and that Thai seafood products would be removed from the programme.
Set to take effect on April 25, 2020, the suspensions cover a total of 573 types of goods that the Commerce Ministry's Trade Policy and Strategy Office said will face a higher import tariff of 4.5%, leading US-bound exports to drop by an estimated $28.8-32.8 million next year, or 0.01% of overall exports.
The US has said the suspensions were triggered by concerns over labour rights in Thailand.
According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, the suspension will focus on products for which the US is a relatively important market, but where Thailand accounts for a relatively small share of US imports, the office said.
Eligibility of all Thai seafood products for the GSP will be revoked due to "longstanding worker rights issues in the seafood and shipping industries", the office said.