Washington's GSP cut slightly affects Thai exports

BANGKOK, November 1 (TNA) - The Ministry of Commerce says that the United States' recent decision on cutting its trade privileges under the generalized system of preferences (GSP) program on 11 items of Thai exports shipped to the US economy, taking effective as of November 1, should affect the Thai economy only slightly. Adul Chotinisakorn, Director-General of the ministry's Department of Foreign Trade, voiced his assessment on Thursday, two days after Washington released its Annual GSP Product Review 2017 report, in which Thailand is among 15 countries whose certain items of products exported to the US economy have been withdrawn from the US trade privilege program under its competitive need limit (CNLs) criteria. Adul told journalists that the 11 items of Thai exports cut from the US GSP program include fresh orchid, fresh durian, processed papaya, dried papaya, dried tamarind, processed corn, preserved fruits and beans, floor wood tiles, washing machine, printing machine and camera safety stand. Adul noted that the affected 11 items of Thai products, worth 46 million US dollars, account for only 1.1 per cent of the total value of about 4.15 billion US dollars of over 3,400 items of Thai exports enjoying the US trade privileges under its GSP program. According to the senior official, he has ordered his department's commercial office in Washington to notify the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) for its reconsideration that one of the 11 affected items of Thai exports, which is camera safety stand, has gained only 19.80 market share in the US market, far below its 50 per cent-CNLs criteria for the product. Meanwhile, the senior official suggested Thai producers and exporters to ship more products that 14 other countries have been cut from Washington's GSP program to the US market instead to not only ease the impact on the Thai economy, but also generally boost shipments of Thai products to the US economy. The 14 other countries whose certain items of exports have also been withdrawn from the US GSP program include Argentina, Belize, Bosnia, Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, Falkland Islands, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, the Philippines, Suriname and Turkey. (TNA)