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As the title of this video suggests, we are asking why are reciprocal trade taxes the new normal? I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Pattaya Mail, that is pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Thailand deepens US investment ties at IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington. So it's important to note, pretty high-level folks from Ministry of Finance and within the current Government are in America right now negotiating certain trade agreements. I am personally kind of at a loss. Mr. Trump seems to think that he can just sort of unilaterally tariff people and the Supreme Court has come out and largely said, "no you can't exactly do that", which he then turned around and used some kind of emergency authorization under the same Act to basically keep doing it. That said, it kind of remains to be seen how that shakes out. 

But my big question is I really don't like being overly critical of US policy. I want America to do the right thing, just as I want things to be good for Thailand. But long story short, we're running around the world - I just saw a clip of Scott Besson talking about freezing Chinese bank accounts if they do business with X, Y and Z. Running around the world bullying everybody really is not good trade policy. On top of that, we used to be the people that just wanted to do business. America used to be the people that “hey, your problems in your country are your own; let's make some money. Let's make a deal here." What do we have that you want, what do you have that we want?" That was basically how we operated. 

Frankly, the bedrock of the US-Thai relationship is the US-Thai Treaty of Amity and if you go back and read those documents going back to the original one and the latest iteration which was ratified in 1966, it just exemplifies that thinking where it's just, "hey we just want to do business." I mean one of the things it grants Americans is the ability to have National Treatment with their companies when doing business in Thailand. It's just basic free trade and we're completely away from that now, and Trump, who purported to be this businessman pro-trade guy, talks about Trade Wars and, what is this getting anybody? It does not make a lot of sense to me. 

That said, quoting directly: "Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dr. Ekniti Nitithanprapas, joined by Deputy Director of the Fiscal Policy Office Natthawut Thammasiri met with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on April 14, 2026, during the 2026 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce serves as a critical liaison for Thailand to engage with the American private sector. The meeting addressed three main objectives: attracting Foreign Direct Investment from American companies, advancing technological cooperation, and assessing investor sentiment toward Thailand's economic environment." First off, all three of those things I think are a net good for the US-Thai relationship. Let me be very clear about that. That said, quoting further: "U.S. Chamber of Commerce representatives shared perspectives on global fiscal policy, noting that reciprocal trade taxes are likely to become the "New normal" over the next two or three years." You know, when Obama first use that term "New normal" I hated it then, and I hate it now. It's just this kind of, "ahh, we're going to do what we want; you're going to have to deal with it and that's just how it is. It is what it is." New normal is basically another way of saying "it is what it is" even if it's terrible. Reciprocal trade taxes are helping who? And on top of it, I've done videos about how hard it is now to mail anything. This Administration has messed up the mail? We've had the mail thing down since Benjamin Franklin was walking around. I just don't understand where this mentality is coming from that reciprocal trade taxes are the new normal. That has never been the basis of American Trade Policy; up to very, very recently was it even to talk about in those kind of terms. That said, quoting further: "They recommended that Thailand continued negotiations to ensure policy clarity and maintain global competitiveness as tax dynamics evolve." So keep talking, I mean until something better comes along. I don't know what exactly that means. 

Long story shortage, I think it's very positive that Thai and American counterparts are meeting to discuss things like trade, but I find it very disturbing that the notion that reciprocal taxes i.e. tariffs are just the new normal, should just be sort of accepted. I don't think that's good for anybody, least of all actually the US, especially the US consumer. So hopefully, this will move in a different direction. That said, we'll certainly be keeping folks updated on this channel as the situation evolves.