November 2, 2020

US suspends duty-free imports for Thailand due to lack of progress in opening Thai market to US pork

United States President Donald Trump said Thailand's tariff-free privileges for about US$817 million worth in exports to the United States will be withdrawn from December 30, due to lack of progress in opening Thai market to US pork products, Reuters reported.

The announced suspension of access to the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) comes after an earlier suspension this year of about US$1.3 billion worth of imports from Thailand. Thailand once had about US$4.4 billion in exports to the United States.

President Trump announced the move in a letter to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, following more than two years of negotiations with Thailand about access to Thai markets for US goods and inadequate labour rights.

The US Trade Representative's office announced it has closed GSP eligibility reviews with no loss of benefits for Georgia, Indonesia, and Uzbekistan. New GSP reviews have been opened for Eritrea on worries about the rights of workers.

-      Reuters