Thailand at 'last paragraph' of US trade agreement, PM says

Thailand is ‌at "the last paragraph" ​of a trade agreement with the United States, ‌Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a forum in Singapore, Anutin said he expected to sign ‌the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade during President ‌Donald Trump's next visit to Asia, likely in November in Manila or Shenzhen when Trump attends ASEAN meetings. Anutin said that ⁠he ​received a ⁠letter from Trump last week confirming the deal is at ⁠its final stage. "He told me that I was to ​make sure that my people and the ⁠United States Trade Representative would write up the final clause."

In ⁠July, ​the US imposed a tariff of 12.5% on imports from Thailand. The United States is ⁠Thailand's largest export market, accounting for 24% of the southeast ⁠Asian ⁠country's total exports so far this year.