Relieving US-China trade war expected in 2019

BANGKOK, January 29 (TNA) - The Fiscal Policy Office (FPO), under the Thai Ministry of Finance, has assessed that the ongoing trade war between the United States and China should be relieving later this year, thanks to attempted negotiations by both of the major trading partners. FPO Director-General Lawaron Sangsanit voiced the assessment on Tuesday, conceding that the US-China trade war has caused a slowdown in the world economy and a drop in Thai exports last year by 200-300 million US dollars, with the country's shipments of electrical products and solar cells mostly affected so far. Lawaron projected that Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP) and exports in 2019 should, thus, grow by about 4.0 per cent year-on-year and by about 4.5 per cent year-on-year respectively, from about 4.1 per cent year-on-year and about 6.7 per cent year-on-year in 2018. The FPO chief said unlike 2018 when Thailand's GDP growth was mostly propelled by the more creation of jobs, as well as the increased private consumption and investment, the country's GDP in 2019 should mostly boosted by the government's mega-investment projects. (TNA)