Bangkok: Dr. Thanawat suggests collaborating with ASEAN to address the Trump tariff issue, and predicts several organizations will revise upward their 2026 export figures. Dr. Thanawat Polvichai, President of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, revealed that following the US Supreme Court's ruling to overturn Trump's import tariffs on several countries worldwide, the Thai government must closely monitor the US situation or adopt a "wait and see" approach to observe its future course of action. This is because Thailand is a small country with the US as its number one trading partner. The government should also watch closely to see if any lawsuits against the US, both from US and other foreign businesses, could lead to prolonged legal challenges. Thailand, meanwhile, should proceed in line with the direction of larger countries or perhaps hold discussions among ASEAN or other Asian groups to determine how to respond to the US situation.

According to Thai News Agency, Dr. Thanawat added that, as a result of this problem, all countries worldwide have benefited from the 10% import tariff from the United States, reducing the cost of exporting to the US. At the same time, US private importers will buy goods at lower prices. This benefits both US businesses and exporters from many countries. Consequently, many organizations have projected export growth of only 1-3% in 2026, which may need to be revised. This opportunity must be used to proactively explore new markets in order to boost Thailand's GDP growth to 2-2.5%. This is a major task for the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which must closely monitor this situation to adjust trade and investment negotiation plans.