Trade Wars & Economic Statecraft
ไทยเกินดุลการค้าสหรัฐ จริงหรือหลอกลวง? สินค้าและบริการดิจิทัลไม่ได้นับรวม?
Summary
The claim that Thailand runs a surplus with the United States may be wrong, because the balance counts only physical goods clearing customs.
What it omits is digital services — Netflix, Spotify, Google, Facebook, Microsoft — that Thais pay for every month.
The estimate is over 200 billion baht a year, which changes the picture materially.
Key points
The method determines the conclusion
The figures used in international negotiation rest on a system designed before the digital economy.
Services do not clear customs, so they are not counted
There is no container to inspect, and the money leaves every month regardless.
This is an argument Thailand can use
If the other side cites the balance to justify tariffs, a more complete figure is a negotiating instrument.
Every country has the same problem
Net importers of digital services are recorded as running surpluses when they are not.