Bid for tariff exclusion
The Department of Foreign Trade has expedited its procedures for a request to exclude Thailand from the recently announced US tariffs on steel and aluminum product imports, after the United States announced its procedures for exclusion requests on March 19.
Adul Chotinisakorn, DFT director-general, said the department had held discussions with the Federation of Thai Industries, Iron and Steel Institute of Thailand, Metal Tube and Cold-Forming Steel Association, related Thai manufacturers and exporters as well as the Office of Commercial Affairs in Washington, DC last Tuesday (March 20) for submission of the exclusion request.
Thai manufacturers and exports will join US importers to submit the exclusion requests which will show that steel and aluminum product imports from Thailand are not produced or in insufficient amount in the US and it is necessary to import Thai steel and aluminum products to prevent any impacts from the US measures on US importers or users, he said.
On March 8, 2018, US President Donald Trump announced that the US would impose tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum on every foreign shipment of those metals into the US, with exemptions for Canada and Mexico, in order to protect national security.
