Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-Ocha will meet on the sidelines of the Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with representatives of the United States to discuss trade concessions. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Somkit Chatusipitak after meeting with the Chargé d'Affaires of the US Embassy and Acting Ambassador Michael Heat.

According to the Bangkok Post, a meeting during which a number of issues were discussed, including the suspension of the General System of Preferences (GSP), was held on Tuesday at the Government House. According to Chatusipitak, Heath stated that the decision to suspend duty-free trading with Thailand six months later was not final.

Vice Prime Minister stressed that Thailand and the United States have long been friends, and this issue can be discussed. The ASEAN Summit, to be held November 2–4 in Nontaburi Province, neighboring Bangkok, should provide Prayut Chan-Oche with the opportunity to discuss this issue with a US delegation, which will also include American investors, the newspaper writes.

The Thai prime minister urged the public not to worry too much about the problem and said that the kingdom would negotiate with the United States to restore its products to GSP as soon as possible and at the same time seek new markets for Thai exports as a long-term solution. The government will also consider measures to assist the private sector, which will suffer from the loss of GSP privileges, he said.

TASS / www.tass.ru