Ministry meets private sector ahead of USTR meeting

BANGKOK, June 26 (TNA) -- Deputy Commerce Minister Ms Chutima Bunyapraphasara said that the ministry planned to meet with representatives from the local private sector on Tuesday which includes the Thai Chamber Commerce, Federation of Thai Industries, steel industries and automakers to gauge the fallout from the bitter trade conflict between the US and China. Even though overall Thailand will not be directly affected but many local industries are important links in foreign production chains and will no doubt feel the impact of raised tariff boundaries. The Ministry of Commerce will take into consideration all viewpoints from the private sector and consider the overall impact on the country as a whole before the actual meeting with the Unites States Trade Representative (USTR) scheduled for July 22-24. According to her itinerary, Ms Chutima will first fly to Canada in a public relations effort to promote Thai rice there before flying to the US to meet with the USTR to present Thailand's case. Her task will be to lobby US officials to ensure that the impact on the country's future exports will be minimal while at the same time reassuring them of Thailand's commitment to comply with whatever new tariffs are introduced. (TNA)