Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing The Amity Treaty and Thailand-US Economic Partnership. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from Pattaya Mail, that's pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Thailand deepens US investment ties at IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington. Quoting directly, and I talked about this in another video made contemporaneously with this one where I was asking whether or not tariffs and the notion of "trade taxes" are in fact the new normal, and should they be. And is it a good paradigm to have as just a fixed default position; ‘well that's just the way it is’. 

I grew up at a time in America where it was conventional wisdom that tariffs aren't particularly good for trade. They may have some benefits when it comes to protecting some domestic manufacturing. Okay maybe. But Mr. Trump is throwing a lot of tariffs around out there and the Supreme Court has come down and said some of it's not legal. That said, he seems to be using some kind of emergency power to continue a lot of it. But again it is predicated on this notion that this stuff is good for the country, and I have never really seen where that's the case. 

Now that said, this excerpt, quoting directly: "In response, the Deputy Prime Minister assured the Chamber of the administration's stability and commitment to strengthening the Thai-US economic partnership. He highlighted the government's focus on advancing technology and workforce skills in Thai Industries to meet current investment requirements." Basically what they were saying is look we are old allies; we are old friends; we are looking to continue our trade relationship and try to improve it as best we can. And the bedrock of that notion is the document known as the US-Thai Treaty of Amity.

As I've discussed in other videos, the Treaty of Amity allows Americans to do business in Thailand with what's called "National Treatment", meaning an American can own their company here in Thailand out right, notwithstanding the provisions of the Foreign Business Act. By the way it is possible to get a Business Visa and a Work Permit that then allows for somebody to be on a path to Permanent Residence, even possibly citizenship here in Thailand, and it can all be done through the vehicle of the US-Thai Treaty of Amity. 

So I think that the overtures between the US and Thailand regarding trade are laudable. I would kind of like to see an attitude adjustment on the US side with regard to this "fixed reciprocal taxes" as being the new normal; I kind of think that's a bad policy paradigm to be maintaining. But that said, I think it's good overall to see the interchange between the two countries and it's important to point out that the Treaty of Amity is the bedrock document that undergirds the relationship between the United States and the Kingdom of Thailand.