Thailand plans to buy an additional 1 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) worth US$500 million (about 16.6 billion baht) from the United States over the next five years as part of efforts to ease the trade imbalance that led Washington to impose a high tariff on Thai exports.
The move comes ahead of negotiations with the US over the tariff hike next week.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira on Wednesday met representatives from the national oil and gas conglomerate, PTT Plc, to discuss measures to deal with the US' 36% reciprocal tariff on Thai goods.
He said PTT plans to buy 1 million tonnes of LNG from the US next year, which should help ease its concerns.
He added that contracts to purchase LNG from other countries will expire over the next five years so PTT also plans to buy an additional 1 million tonnes of LNG per year from the US.
More LNG will also be purchased from the US and exported to neighbouring countries, Mr Pichai said, adding PTT will have to invest in building more storage facilities to accomodate additional LNG imports.
"The Thai delegation will discuss the matter with the US and confirm that it will buy LNG from the US. The import is in line with PTT's investment plans for export," Mr Pichai said.
In the future, if Thailand imports enough LNG for domestic consumption, the surplus may be exported as PTT has several facilities and is ready to import LNG for resale to other countries, he said.
He said he believes natural gas will continue to be the world's major source of fuel over the next 30 years, adding Thailand can still import additional LNG from the US.
The plan to buy additional amounts from the US could be a win-win situation for Thailand and the US, he said.
Currently, Thailand has a 15-year contract to buy 1 million tonnes of LNG per year worth $500 million from the US.
Thailand buys more than 10 million tonnes of LNG per year, mostly from the Middle East. Gas makes up 60% of the fuel used for power generation in Thailand.
Buying more products from the US, including LNG, is among the measures expected to reduce the value of Thailand's trade surplus with America.
At the same time, there will be discussions on Thailand's plan to import 400,000 tonnes of ethane from the US, valued at $100 million over the next four years, he said.
Thailand's trade surplus with the United States was estimated at $45.6 billion last year.
The 36% tariff on Thai goods was initially set to take effect on April 9, but US President Donald Trump decided to delay enforcement for 90 days, allowing countries that did not retaliate against US tariffs to negotiate on trade matters.
Mr Pichai also held talks with Bank of Thailand (BoT) governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput about the reciprocal tariff measures before Mr Pichai's trip to the US on Thursday.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Pichai said he and the central bank governor have agreed that no conclusive measures can be devised to deal with the US tariff hike at this stage as the government has to monitor and assess broader impacts of the US tariff policy.