Thailand is among the countries hit with a steep tariff rate of 36 percent—significantly higher than expected. Despite this, Deputy Prime Minister Pichai Chunhavajira stated the Thai government was in no rush to initiate talks with the US. Rather, they chose to wait until their proposals were prepared. Mr Pichai will now take the proposals forward for negotiations.
The Thai government aims to establish a balanced trade relation with the United States. Currently, the country imports far more from the US than it exports. According to the USGS data, Thailand exported 35,200 tonnes of aluminium to the US and imported 365,000 tonnes. Both export and import volumes rose 5.4 per cent and 59 per cent Y-o-Y from 33,400 tonnes and 229,000 tonnes.
Thailand mainly exports aluminium plates, sheets and bars to the US. In 2024, it exported 33,100 tonnes, accounting for 94 per cent of the total export volume. On the other hand, the country imports aluminium scrap from the US, which totalled 353,000 tonnes in 2024, up by 58 per cent from 224,000 tonnes in 2023. Thailand was the third-largest importer of aluminium scrap from the US in 2024, after India and Malaysia. For a brief period, it even overtook Malaysia to become the second-largest importer.
