Will Thai protests hamper efforts to reset trade ties with the US?

Name: Thai protesters turn Bangkok street into catwalk to mock princess’s fashion show
Uploaded: 2020-11-14T08:00:12.000Z
Duration: 1 min 43 s
Description: Thai protesters turn Bangkok street into catwalk to mock princess’s fashion show

Business leaders want better trade ties with a Biden government, after the Trump administration suspended its tariff-free privileges

But there are concerns that protests calling for political reform could derail economic engagement

Reading Time:4 minutes

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Traditional Thai dancers wearing protective face shields perform at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, a major tourist destination. As Thailand’s tourism sector has taken a financial hit from the coronavirus pandemic, the government has been trying to shore up trade ties with other countries to make up for lost revenue. Photo: AFP

Jitsiree Thongnoi

Published: 4:00pm, 14 Nov 2020Updated: 9:23pm, 25 Nov 2020

The election of Joe Biden as US President has raised hopes in Thailand about a fresh approach on trade ties, with that optimism tempered by concerns that the government approach in dealing with the student-led anti-government protests could derail economic engagement.

Thailand’s economic relations with the US were set back when the Trump administration suspended its tariff-free privileges for exports under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), after the US Trade Representative cited Thailand’s blocking of US pork products and concerns of slave labour in the fisheries sector.

In all, the US suspended about US$2 billion in Thailand’s duty-free privileges over the past year, with US$817 million of that officially scheduled for revocation on December 30.

Ghanyapad Tantipipatpong, chairman of the Thai National Shippers’ Council, which represents Thai exporters, said businesses were hopeful that Biden “would take a friendlier stance towards Thailand on trade”, noting that “in the past years, we have made no progress in terms of free-trade agreements with either the European Union or the US”.

With falling exports and zero tourism due to the coronavirus pandemic leading to Thailand’s economy contracting by more than 7 per cent this year, the business sector is pinning its hopes on the new Democratic administration potentially joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and Thailand should take the earliest chance to join the pact, Ghanyapad said.

But noted political scientist Ian Bremmer is among analysts who say Biden will not be able to get the US back into the pact. “There’s no political capital, no support for it,” he told Bloomberg Television earlier this month.

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Thai protesters turn Bangkok street into catwalk to mock princess’s fashion show

While economists expect increasing political tension from mostly youth-led protests to affect economic recovery, business leaders worry they could also have a detrimental effect on trade ties.