SPECIAL
REPORT
25
MAR 2017 FOOD FOCUSTHAILAND
Objectives of Trump’s economic policies are
also key factors for his victory. The 45
th
president
promised to create more than 25 million jobs in
10 years by expanding its economy, using pro-
growth tax plan and government investment in
basic infrastructures.According toTrumps, public
expenditurewas largelyneglected for a long time,
and it isa foundation to create the country’s long-
term growth, and toboost employment.
Not only had that, Trump’s new economic
policies,particularly itsprotectionismcharacteristic,
destroyed theUS’s liberalism,pro-free trade image
which has long been established. The situation
stirredanxietyacross theglobe,assuchextremism
policies would not only affected the US, but also
the global economy. TheUS is a global player in
economic, trade, finance and capital. Thailand is
likely to be affected by the policy, especially Thai
food industrywhosemainexportpartnersarealso
including theUS.
Trump’sEconomicPolicies
The US trade partners will be mainly affected
by economic policies that include international
tradepolicyandfiscal policy (taxandgovernment
spending). The essence of each policy can be
summarized as follows;
1. International Trade Policy
- Mostly,
Trump’s international trade approach is based on
protectionism like tariffwall.Duringhiscampaign,
he threatened to increase import tax forgoods from
China and Mexico. He also referred that the US
may seek re-negotiation on the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and revise US
role in theWorldTradeOrganization (WTO). The
US planned withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) had also panicked the world,
as it is an extremism policy against US’s image
of liberalismand support for free-trade in thepast
3-4decades.
Suchpolicy isakey risk to theglobaleconomy,
particularly when the global trade is sluggish.
It is undeniable that the victory of the new US President Donald Trump comes from his
extremism policies that win many people’s heart. The basic principle of his policy evolves
around the ideaof “AmericanComesFirst”,especiallyeconomicpolicieswhichhighlight trade
protectionism.Cancellationand revisionof tradeagreements includingNAFTA,TPPandWTO
areannounced, aswell as the trade relationswithChina,Mexicoandother tradepartners, in
order to createmore jobs forAmericans in their homeland.
Policiesof
US’sNewLeader
and Its Implicationon
Thai
Food Industry
