Trade and Investment

Thai-U.S. Economic Relations

The United States and Thailand have a deep history of cooperation on trade, which extends to the 1833 U.S.-Thailand Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations and the U.S.-Thailand TIFA signed in October 2002. The United States and Thailand also have been cooperate through multilateral engagements including the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

Trade and Investment between Thailand and the U.S. (2023) 

• The U.S. is still the second largest trading partner with Thailand after China, at $68,358 million at conclusion of 2023. This is an increase of 4.72% compared to last year.
• Thailand has trade surplus with the US at $29,371million
• The U.S. is Thailand’s largest export market at $48,865 million, with a 2.8% expansion rate compared to last year, and account to 17.2% of Thailand’s total export. The second and third in ranking are China and Japan. The top goods include computers and components, rubber and telephones.
• The U.S. is Thailand’s third largest import market after China and Japan at $19,494 million with expansion rate of 9.9% compare to last year and accounting for 6.7% of Thailand’s total import. The top goods include crude oil, machineries and chemical products.
• The U.S. ranked 3^rd in terms of foreign direct investment with 40 projects worth a combined $2.3 billion.
• For new business registration, the U.S. ranked 3^rd, presenting 101 investors (15.1%) worth of $126 million (3.4%) following Japan and Singapore.
• Thai companies total investment in the U.S. worth $15.27 billion and creates over 65,000 jobs.

The U.S.-Thai Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations of 1833

The U.S.-Thai Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations of 1833, commonly referred to as the Treaty of Amity, is a special economic relationship between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Thailand that give special rights and benefits to U.S. citizens who wish to establish their businesses in Thailand. The Treaty of Amity treaty was amended in 1966 and provides two major benefits:

Despite the Treaty of Amity, there are still certain restrictions on U.S. investment as follows:

U.S.-Thailand Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA)

The U.S.-Thailand TIFA was signed in October 2002. On September, 2023, the two sides welcomed the resumption of the TIFA Joint Council Meeting following the COVID-19 pandemic and reaffirmed the importance of working together to strengthen the bilateral economic relationship.  The United States and Thailand highlighted cooperation through multilateral engagements including the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi and Thailand’s Ambassador to the United States Tanee Sangrat participated in the opening discussion.   USTR’s Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific Wallis Yu and Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce Deputy Director General Rachvitch Piyapramote co-chaired the meeting.  U.S. and Thai officials discussed and agreed to continue dialogue on the full range of bilateral economic issues including agriculture, labor, intellectual property, digital trade, investment, customs cooperation, and the Generalized System of Preferences program.

Source:

• https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/southeast-asia-pacific/thailand
• https://www.census.gov/
• https://www.commercethaiusa.org/
• https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports/thailand
• https://www.trade.gov/sites/default/files/2023-09/Thailand.pdf

Last Edited: April, 2024