BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand plans to import more liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States over the next five years, Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said on Wednesday ahead of a meeting with U.S. officials next week to discuss tariffs.
There is already an agreement to import 1 million metric tons of LNG worth $500 million next year as part of a 15-year plan starting in 2026 totalling 15 million tons, he said.
Thailand is planning an additional contract for more than 1 million tons of U.S. LNG worth about $600 million over the next five years, Pichai said.
Thailand is an LNG importer and wants to be a distributor in the region, so it will have to import more, he added.
The country also plans to import 400,000 tons of U.S. ethane worth $100 million over the next four years, Pichai said.
His remarks come ahead of talks between Thai and U.S. officials next week. Thailand is among Southeast Asian nations hardest hit by U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened export levies, with a 36% tariff.
Seeking to negotiate a better deal, the government has said it would increase imports of U.S. goods, such as corn, soybean meal, crude, ethane, LNG, autos and electronics and aircraft. It would also consider importing U.S. beef and offal, as well as liquor, but no pork imports for now.
The government has also said it will promote more Thai investment in the United States and crack down on false claims about the origin of products that use Thailand to ship to America.
After a meeting with the central bank, Pichai said the government was working closely with the Bank of Thailand and considering measures to ease the impact of tariffs on exporters.
When the 36% tariff was announced this month, Pichai had said it could cut growth in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy by 1 percentage point.
Before the tariff was announced, the government was targeting growth of 3% this year, against 2.5% last year, far adrift of most of its regional peers.
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring, Kitiphong Thaichareon, Thanadech Staporncharnchai and Chayut SetboonsarngEditing by John Mair and David Goodman)
