The Bangkok Post reported that Thai steel pipes have been granted an exemption from the US’s 25% steel import tariff. Wanchai Varavithya, deputy director-general of the Commerce Ministry’s Foreign Trade Department, said the US Department of Commerce recently granted Thai steel pipe exporters an exemption from the tariff, but only on a shipment basis.

In a bid to curb the harm from the higher US tariffs, Thailand, through its Commerce Ministry, has since April requested a number of trade privileges aimed at helping Thai exporters compete in both the US and global markets, using the vehicle of the Thailand-US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement meeting in Washington DC. Thailand cited a number of reasons why it should be excluded from the tariffs, including the fact that it holds a very small steel and aluminium market share in the US. A study by the Iron and Steel Institute of Thailand estimated that the country would lose 383,496 tonnes or 10.47 billion baht worth of steel exports (notably for steel pipe, cold-rolled steel and galvanized steel sheet) as a direct consequence of the US tariffs.

Prime Steel Pipe as a steel pipe manufacturer and expoter,  we will keep a focus on international market to deal with in a timely manner.