Thailand-US tariff negotiations are entering their final stage after President Donald Trump wrote to Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, expressing hope that a deal could be signed during his planned Asia visit in November.
Government Spokesperson Ekkapop Pianpises said Anutin informed Cabinet of the letter on October 6 and instructed Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun to push ahead with the remaining negotiations. Thai officials described the talks as being in their final stage.
Trump’s letter expressed a desire to see the Thailand-US tariff deal completed soon enough for a signing during his upcoming Asia trip, according to the Thai government’s account. However, the full letter has not been publicly released.
The development adds a possible November deadline to negotiations that have continued throughout 2026 over market access, tariffs and other trade conditions between the two countries.
Thailand and the US agreed on a framework for an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade in October 2025. Under that framework, Thailand committed to removing tariffs on approximately 99% of US goods, while Washington set out a 19% reciprocal tariff on qualifying Thai imports and possible zero-tariff treatment for selected products.
The agreement also covers non-tariff barriers, digital trade, intellectual property, agriculture, labour standards and economic-security cooperation.
However, negotiations on the full agreement continued into this year, while subsequent US tariff measures changed the wider trade environment.
In July, Washington imposed a separate Section 301 tariff on Thai goods as part of an investigation covering countries accused of failing to sufficiently restrict imports linked to forced labour.
The Thai government said the measure represented a net increase of 2.5 percentage points from the previous base for affected products, while more than 2,120 Thai product lines were exempt.
Thailand has since continued negotiations with the Office of the United States Trade Representative in an effort to settle outstanding issues and protect access to its largest export markets.
Commerce officials have previously said discussions involved areas including forced labour safeguards, industrial capacity, market access and possible increases in Thai purchases and investment involving the US.
The original framework also outlined planned commercial purchases worth billions of dollars, including US agricultural and energy products and 80 American aircraft valued at around US$18.8 billion.
Thai media reports on October 6 noted that the latest negotiations were approaching their conclusion and that the government wanted preparations completed in time for a possible November signing.
No final signing date has yet been announced, and the Thai government has not disclosed which issues remain unresolved.
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The story Trump urges Thailand US tariff deal completion in November as seen on Thaiger News.
