Thailand aims to finalise tariff agreement with the United States
Thailand has agreed in principle on tariffs with the United States and expects to sign a free trade deal with the United Arab Emirates in early 2027.
- Tariff negotiations between Thailand and the United States are currently in progress.
- The two nations have reached an agreement in principle, with only finer legal details left to be addressed.
- Thailand hopes the final agreement can be signed in November during the ASEAN leaders’ summit in the Philippines.
Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun spoke to reporters at Government House at 2pm on Thursday (October 8, 2026), after meeting Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.
The meeting followed a return to duties at Government House after a visit to Singapore for a one-on-one discussion at the 24th Forbes Global CEO Conference on October 7–8.
Suphajee said tariff negotiations between Thailand and the United States (US) remained in progress following a letter from the US president to Anutin.
The two sides had agreed in principle, with only finer details left to address through the legal process.
She hoped an agreement could be signed in November if the US president and Anutin met again during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders’ summit in the Philippines.
The working group would continue discussions on other details.
Suphajee said the foreign trade minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was visiting Thailand that day and the two sides had held trade discussions.
They had been discussing trade tariffs and a free trade agreement (FTA) on an ongoing basis.
Discussions took place on October 7, and Anutin was informed at a meeting on October 8 that the trade talks had been completed.
She said the legal framework would need to be reviewed before the FTA could be signed, a process expected to take about two to three months.
Signing was expected in early 2027, making the UAE the first Middle Eastern country to sign an FTA with Thailand.
Suphajee said Thailand already traded with the UAE in areas such as energy, although there were still few Thai products to offer in that market.
Signing the FTA would enable Thailand to export more agricultural products and other goods, which she said would increase trade value by more than THB10–12 billion and benefit small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and farmers.
