BANGKOK, 4 July 2014 – The Commerce Ministry affirmed that the United States will not boycott Thai products after its downgrade of Thailand to the lowest level or Tier 3 in the “Trafficking in Persons” (TIP) report.
The ministry addressed worrisome reports that the US will soon implement a measure to ban the import of Thai products, saying that it is baseless. He pointed out that the tier 3 status means a halt to non-trade related and non-humanitarian aid from the US. Trade-related assistance, however, will remain unaffected from the downgrade.
The ministry has urged exporters and businesses to continue their trade with American partners as usual and to double check reports that may be false or misleading.
The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) earlier expressed confidence that Thailand’s trading partners will continue to order products from the country as usual, and both the private and public sectors are working towards clarifying the issue and resolving human trafficking problems.
