Trump’s GSP seafood cut gives Thailand 2020 GDP an early whack

The struggling Thailand economy received an unexpected whack for the year ahead yesterday (Oct 26) when US President Donald Trump suspended $1.3 billion worth of duty-free trade for Thai items, including seafood, under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme.

President Trump is reported to have sent a letter to US House of Representatives Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the president of the Senate, vice president Mike Pence, advising them of his decision.

The letter allegedly claims that Mr Trump had suspended duty-free treatment of some Thai products, because the government had not taken steps to ‘afford workers in Thailand internationally recognised worker rights’, including freedom of association and collective bargaining.

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John Le Fevre