Prime Minister Confirms Reciprocal Trade Agreement with U.S. Unaffected by Midterm Elections

Key summary

Anutin Charnvirakul, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, revealed the progress of negotiations for a reciprocal trade agreement between Thailand and the United States. He stated that the results of the midterm elections in the United States will not affect the agreed-upon tax rates, which are expected to be approximately 19%. The Thai side has already reached an agreement on the key points, and the process is currently in the stage of having legal teams from both sides carefully review the draft of the main agreement. The Prime Minister emphasized that Thailand has fully complied with all the conditions, including those related to military strength, peacebuilding, and mine clearance. Regarding the implementation process, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. government are in the process of drafting a joint statement, which is expected to be signed within the next 1-2 weeks, possibly during the ASEAN or APEC summit. While the review of the main agreement is ongoing, Thailand will continue to apply the existing standard tax rates.