A free trade agreement has just been signed between the United States and Thailand. This could lead to the influx of cheap Thai trucks into the US market. This would result in the lift of the 25% duty on imported trucks in the US.
General Motors had better be wary. Though the pickups assembled in Thailand now are of the small-sized type in relative to the huge trucks which GM has, with this FTA it could encourage Toyota to assemble large trucks in Thailand as well, for export to the USA.
The Japanese pick-up truck industry centers on manufacturing in Thailand. Thailand can build it cheaper than US factories. It is the world’s 2nd largest producer of pick-up trucks second to the United States.
Pickups have become increasingly popular in Malaysia too, as there is significantly less tax slapped onto the pickup prices here. Which is why you can get good pickup trucks at sub-100,000 ringgit prices, compared to SUVs which typically go for 140,000 to 160,000 ringgit.
Source: The Detroit News
