Thailand says wants fair trading relationship with U.S.
BANGKOK: Thailand is committed to creating a fair relationship in trade and investment with the United States, the finance minister said on Tuesday as the Southeast Asian nation seeks talks with Washington to head off threatened tariffs.
Thailand faces a 36% U.S. tariff if a reduction can't be negotiated before a moratorium expires in July. The U.S. has set a 10% tariff for most nations while the moratorium is in place.
More collaboration was expected in the energy sector, Pichai Chunhavajira told a Thai-U.S. investment forum, with Thailand keen for partners in green energy and interested in working with U.S. biotech, food processing, and wellness companies.
Thailand has submitted a proposal to Washington that aims to address the trade imbalance including by enhancing market access for U.S. exports, tackling transshipment violations, and Thai investment that would create U.S. jobs, he said.
The United States was Thailand's largest export market last year, accounting for 18.3% of total shipments worth $55 billion. Washington has put its trade deficit with Thailand at $45.6 billion.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Siege of Myanmar trade town Kyondoe makes life miserable for schoolchildren
Illustrative photo of students at a school in Kyondoe. - KNU Brigade 6 YANGON: Myanmar's military junta and opposition forces are fighting over control of a lucrative trade route into Thailand, with shells and aerial attacks regularly forcing children to flee their schools, teachers and a parent told AFP. Kyondoe town has for two months seen fierce fighting between junta troops and guerilla groups attempting to capture highway access to a Thai border crossing 50km to the east. Myanmar has plunged into a many-sided civil war since the military snatched power in a 2021 coup, with much combat focused on trade routes which groups can use to bolster their war chests. A teacher who works in Kyondoe town, in the eastern state of Karen, said she fled her school on Wednesday after hearing the sound of nearby shelling. "I have no idea which side is shooting. It scares us a lot," she said, speaking on condition of anonymity. She said she has been commuting to Kyondoe from a camp for those displaced by fighting which has flared since mid-April. "Some residents still send their children to schools. If they hear more fighting sounds, artillery sounds, plane sounds, they come to the schools to pick up their children," she said en route to the camp. "If fighting sounds are far away, schools keep teaching. Children are used to hearing the fighting sounds. It's very sad," added the teacher, who intends to go back to her school. "I have to come to serve my duty although I'm really scared." A military officer said fighters from anti-coup and ethnic armed organisations were pounding Kyondoe and another nearby town on the same highway with artillery captured from the junta. "As they are targeting the towns, local military columns are resisting by fighting back," said the officer on Tuesday, also speaking on condition of anonymity. "We are also sorry for the residents and school children," the officer added. "We will try our best to protect the towns." Myanmar's military has pledged a truce throughout this month to ease recovery efforts after March's magnitude-7.7 earthquake which killed nearly 3,800. However, it has told its myriad opponents it will defend its ground against any offensives. "I'm really sick of fleeing. My children can't go to school because of fighting," said one resident who has been forced to quit Kyondoe to shelter in a nearby monastery. "I went back to the town a few days ago as I heard there was less fighting. Soon after we arrived, we had to flee again," they said, speaking on condition of anonymity on Tuesday. Children make up nearly 40 per cent of the more than three million people displaced amid Myanmar's civil war, according to Uniecef. They also frequently fall victim to the violence. A junta air strike on a school in May killed 22 people, including 20 children, according to witnesses. Opposition fighters in central Myanmar claimed Tuesday they shot down a junta jet on a bombing run, while the military said it had crashed on a practice flight owing to engine failure. "We want fighting to finish soon," said a teacher from a village on Kyondoe's outskirts on Tuesday, explaining they were recently forced to shut their school. "We have been hearing artillery fire, gunfire exchanges and air strikes often these days," the teacher added, explaining that monsoon floods make it impossible to dig shelters. "We have no place to hide." - AFP
Daily Express
2 hours ago
- Daily Express
Strengthen China edu ties: Chamber
Published on: Thursday, June 12, 2025 Published on: Thu, Jun 12, 2025 Text Size: Warm and cordial exchange between SCCC and the delegation from USST. Kota Kinabalu: Sabah China Chamber of Commerce President Datuk Frankie Liew said Malaysia, China, and Southeast Asian countries must work together to build a higher education system that possesses its own characteristics and international competitiveness. This system should cultivate future talents with a global outlook, rooted in their own culture and wisdom, to lead regional development. Advertisement 'We must build our own educational confidence and cultural strength!' he emphasized during a recent dialogue with Prof. Yue Haiyang, Vice President of the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (USST). He noted that the recent incident in the United States, where Harvard University revoked the visas of some international students, has sparked global concern about the freedom and inclusiveness of American education. This situation has made China and Southeast Asian countries realise more deeply that only by improving the quality of their own higher education and establishing independent academic systems and education brands can they ensure sustainable talent development. Liew believes that in the current global transformation of higher education – triggered by the US's increasing exclusion of international students – strengthening educational cooperation between Malaysia and China holds significant strategic importance. During a recent visit to Sabah, Prof. Yue Haiyang paid a special visit to the CCCS and held cordial and in-depth discussions with Liew and the chamber's board members on the development of international education cooperation. Recently, USST and Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) officially signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) to launch a short-term student exchange programme between their respective business schools. Each university will select 50 students to participate in short-term academic programs at the partner institution. It is noted that USST had already begun initial exchanges last year, sending students to Sabah to experience the local academic and living environment, laying a strong foundation for this collaboration. Liew praised the cooperation between USST and UMS, noting that it would enhance academic exchanges and the sharing of research achievements in business and related fields. It will also deepen and broaden inter-university collaboration, and help raise the academic reputation and visibility of UMS on the international stage. He warmly welcomed USST's decision to partner with UMS. 'Sabah not only has a multicultural society, beautiful natural ecology, and a stable and safe social environment, but also increasingly developed higher education infrastructure and an internationalisation strategy, making it an ideal platform for international education cooperation.' He believes that this partnership will help improve the quality of education and research at both universities and promote the development of Sabah's international education industry. According to statistics, the global education and training market is currently valued at around USD 7.5 trillion, and it is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6pc to reach approximately USD 10 trillion by 2027. It is expected to continue to grow steadily over the next decade. 'Education is no longer just about cultivating talent – it has become an essential part of national strength and economic development,' Liew added. He also expressed hope that USST and UMS will continue to expand their collaboration to include joint research, education and training programs, and the commercialisation of research outcomes. Together, they can explore new areas and markets in higher education cooperation. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
The Star
6 hours ago
- The Star
News Analysis: Britain's spending review signals ambition, but faces fiscal, delivery test
By Zhao Xiaona, Larry Neild LONDON, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Labour government has launched its most ambitious spending review in over a decade, pledging large-scale investments in health, defence, housing and regional infrastructure as part of a broader plan to "renew Britain." The review signals a clear break from past austerity and outlines the country's fiscal and political direction through 2030. However, analysts caution that the bold agenda, unveiled against a backdrop of high public debt and economic uncertainty, will ultimately be judged on whether it delivers tangible results without compromising fiscal sustainability. AMBITIOUS PLANS WITH MIXED BUDGETS British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves presented the first full-scale spending review of the new government to Parliament on Wednesday. It sets departmental budgets through 2029 and capital investment plans to 2030, framed as a blueprint for long-term renewal. Reeves pledged an end to austerity, insisting on fiscal discipline. The review includes a 29 billion pounds (39 billion U.S. dollars) annual uplift in the National Health Service's operational budget, representing a 3 percent real-terms annual increase to support general practitioner training, school-based mental health care, and digital transformation in health services. Defence spending is set to rise from 2.3 percent to 2.6 percent of gross domestic product by 2027, with funds allocated to nuclear deterrence, munitions production, and military housing. In housing, the government pledged 39 billion pounds over 10 years for social and affordable homebuilding, along with 10 billion pounds in financing to attract private investment. A further 15.6 billion pounds will be directed toward local transport upgrades, including the Oxford-Cambridge rail corridor and the TransPennine Route in northern England. However, not all departments will see gains. The Home Office will face a 1.7 percent annual average real-terms cut to its operating budget, while the Foreign Office will see a 6.9 percent reduction, largely from scaled-back overseas aid. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will face a 2.7 percent cut, and budgets for culture, non-core education, and digital policy are expected to remain flat or decline by the end of the review period. Meanwhile, the government expects savings from ending hotel accommodation for asylum seekers - estimated to save around 1 billion pounds annually. FROM BLUEPRINT TO BUDGETARY STRAIN While the review was welcomed by some as a strategic reset, experts and opposition voices raised concerns about its fiscal viability and delivery risks. Professor Iain Begg of the London School of Economics told Xinhua that the plan marked a "strategic adjustment" rather than a structural overhaul. He welcomed investment in long-neglected northern regions but cautioned that expected savings from digitisation in health and tax administration "often fall short of government hopes." Britain's fiscal headroom remains limited. Public debt now exceeds 100 percent of gross domestic product, and borrowing in the 2024 to 2025 fiscal year reached 148.3 billion pounds. Debt interest costs have nearly doubled since 2018, now accounting for nearly 10 percent of total public spending. Despite leading G7 nations in first-quarter 2025 growth at 0.7 percent, the economy still faces inflation at 3.4 percent and rising unemployment at 4.6 percent. Against this backdrop, the review's ambitions face significant delivery risks. Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, observed that while headline spending appears generous, much of it is front-loaded in the first two years of the current Parliament. "Take Phase Two alone, from 2026 to 2029, and the picture is tighter," he said. He pointed out that eight departments will actually see real-terms cuts by the end of the review period, with schools, the environment, and overseas aid among the biggest losers. Johnson also questioned whether the NHS funding increase would be sufficient to achieve its most ambitious target: restoring the 18-week waiting time guarantee for hospital treatment. Much of the Chancellor's strategy relies on expanded capital investment. The government plans to spend an additional 113 billion pounds on long-term infrastructure over the life of the Parliament, from green energy projects to new rail lines and prisons. But the same period is also expected to see 140 billion pounds in additional borrowing, a figure that raises concerns about the cost of debt servicing. "The question is whether the extra investment will deliver enough benefits to justify the rising cost of public debt," said Johnson. The opposition Conservative Party strongly criticised the plan. British Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride warned of "a cruel summer of speculation" over future tax hikes, arguing that Labour's reliance on borrowing would soon demand fiscal correction. The leader of the Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch added that such borrowing risked "choking private investment and burdening the next generation." Britain has struggled with delays and cost overruns in public infrastructure. The NHS faces chronic staff shortages, and some expected savings, such as from ending hotel use for asylum seekers or rapid digitalisation, remain speculative. With public expectations high and economic conditions fragile, analysts stress that implementation will be the ultimate test. "The Treasury has shown its priorities," said Johnson. "The question is not just whether the money is enough, but whether it will be well spent." (1 pound = 1.35 U.S. dollar)
