In an effort to lessen its trade surplus with the United States, Thailand is planning to decrease it to $20 billion by boosting the import of U.S. goods, as per an official from the industry ministry. Last year, the United States was Thailand's main export market, representing 18.3% of total exports amounting to $54.96 billion.

Passakorn Chairat, the head of the industrial economics office at the industry ministry, mentioned that there is no set timeline for reducing the surplus, but the government is looking to increase imports of items such as corn, soybeans, and ethylene from the U.S., which could impact local products. The commerce ministry reported a trade surplus of $35.4 billion with the United States for Thailand in the previous year, while Washington stated a deficit of $45.6 billion with Thailand.

Passakorn disclosed that the Thai government is developing a plan to manage U.S. tariffs, following discussions on the matter. U.S. President Donald Trump has directed federal agencies to finish comprehensive reviews on various trade matters, including persistent trade deficits, by next week. Thai Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira recently mentioned that the newly imposed U.S. tariffs are likely to affect the export of auto parts from Thailand.