Thailand's economy is expected to encounter temporary "air pockets" due to the impact of tariffs, the finance minister said on Thursday, and the country plans to negotiate to align its tariffs more closely with those of its trade competitors, Reuters reported. "No matter how much the tariff will end up, if it is at an equal level and equal to our competitors, it will not affect us," Pichai Chunhavajira said at a ministry event. "With our proposal, we should be at a point where we would get what we want," he added. Thailand is among Southeast Asian nations hardest hit by U.S.

The Thai central bank cut its benchmark rate and flagged the possibility of slower economic growth, as ongoing global uncertainties cloud the Southeast Asian nation’s outlook, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Bank of Thailand’s monetary policy committee voted 5-2 on Wednesday to lower the policy rate to 1.75% from 2.00%, with two members voting to hold rates steady.

Thailand will increase U.S. imports, lower some of the higher taxes on American goods and address non-tariff barriers, the finance minister said on Tuesday, as the government seeks to negotiate a better deal on new U.S. tariffs, Reuters reported. The tariff of 36% imposed on Southeast Asia's second-largest economy is among the higher rates imposed by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, greater than officials had anticipated.

A Thai business group on Thursday urged Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to negotiate with the United States and consider lowering import taxes on U.S. goods, as the government met with the private sector to discuss U.S. trade policy, Reuters reported. The meeting comes ahead of a deadline U.S. President Donald Trump has set next month for federal agencies to complete comprehensive reviews of a range of trade issues, including analyses of persistent U.S. trade deficits.

Thailand is in early discussions with carmakers to introduce a car trade-in and scrapping scheme in a bid to revive an industry hit by its biggest crisis in decades, three industry officials and two sources said, Reuters reported. Output in the Southeast Asian automobile hub, besieged by a flood of new EVs, has plummeted for more than a year, following a slowdown in exports and weak domestic sales, while tighter credit at a time of soaring household debt hit vehicle buying.

Thailand’s central bank lowered its benchmark interest rate amid global uncertainties and concerns about their potential impact on the Southeast Asian economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Bank of Thailand’s monetary policy committee announced Wednesday that it voted six to one to cut the policy rate to 2.00% from 2.25%.

Tens of thousands of people could be living inside illegal scam compounds in Myanmar that have proliferated near Thailand’s border, according to the head of Thailand’s anti-trafficking agency, who warned it could take months before all foreign nationals are repatriated, The Guardian reported. Thailand has launched a major crackdown on scam compounds over recent weeks, cutting off cross-border electricity and fuel supplies.

Five years after Thai Airways International Pcl filed for bankruptcy protection, the state-controlled carrier’s court-appointed debt administrator Piyasvasti Amranand is planning an aggressive international expansion, Bloomberg News reported. Called out of semi-retirement in 2020 by Thailand’s then-Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha, Piyasvasti was asked to take the controls of the airline and devise a rescue after the carrier had posted losses every year from 2013.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC) is set to introduce a new trading platform based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) that will enable securities firms to trade digital tokens, CoinMarketCap.com reported. This initiative aims to enhance the efficiency of the capital market by promoting an electronic securities ecosystem. Jomkwan Kongsakul, the deputy secretary-general of the Thai SEC, stated that the demand for token investments is increasing.

Thailand transferred about US$890 million to its senior citizens on Monday (Jan 27), part of a government programme to tackle the high cost of living and stimulate the nations’ sluggish economy, Bloomberg News reported. More than 3 million senior citizens were given 10,000 baht each (S$399), and the dole out will boost the country’s US$500 billion economy, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said. The government will continue the cash stimulus programme, she said without elaborating.