Thailand's billion-dollar rice industry would be exposed to major risks if its trade negotiations with the U.S. fail, as the Trump government is threatening a 36 percent tariff on the country.
While the U.S. is not Thailand's largest rice consumer, it remains a critical market for high-value varieties, especially the premium jasmine rice. The Thai government claimed to be advancing a new proposal to achieve a trade balance with the U.S. and avoid Trump's additional tariff, but the huge uncertainty has burdened local farmers.
Rice growers in the country are facing a harsh reality, with dwindling margins and the looming threat of unsustainable debt with just one failed harvest.
"Most farmers borrow money. When we harvest the rice, but the price is not good, we still have costs, for the family and for production. Our income is irregular, so it makes life difficult. Farmers cannot escape this problem. They face this same hardship," said Thawee Sunimit, a local rice farmer.
Half of Thailand's cultivated land is devoted to rice farming, and one in five households grows rice. The pillar industry has already eroded with rising costs, extreme weather, and shrinking exports, and the tariff threat further undermines the exports and narrows the profit. As countries have been delaying their buying decisions due to the tariff, the overall rice exports of Thailand fell by 30 percent in the first quarter.
"Farmers are the driving force of the country's economy. We are concerned because we export a lot of rice to the U.S., more than 800,000 tonnes per year. If this tax is set, 36 percent will immediately increase the price of our products. We are not sure if consumers will have purchasing power, or if they will switch to cheaper products," said Kriengsak Tapananon, the Honorary Adviser of the Thai Rice Farmer Association.
Despite the export decrease, Thailand remains the world's second-largest rice exporter, supplying more than 9 million tonnes annually to global markets. As Trump's tariff is shaking Thailand's rice industry, the global rice supply is also under threat.
US tariff uncertainty threatens rice industry in Thailand
Highlighting the "Future Energy" as a key direction for China's strategic emerging industries, the country's nuclear energy development, guided by its three-step strategy, has seen major strides in the past year, said a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
In a recent press briefing, Xin Feng, also deputy general manager of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), updated the media on the progresses China has achieved under the strategy.
"China's three-step strategy for nuclear energy development -- from the thermal reactor to the fast reactor and the fusion reactor -- was formulated in 1983 as a medium- and long-term plan. For the thermal reactor, over the past year, our 2.0 version of the Hualong One technology has been approved. This is a unified and fully self-owned intellectual property based third-generation nuclear power technology solution. And the Linglong One small modular reactor also successfully completed its cold-state functional test last year and is expected to be put into commercial operation this year," he said.
For the second and third steps, Chinese researchers and engineers have achieved milestones in the past year with the government support, Xin noted.
"Then for the fast reactor, last year, a closed-cycle system for an integral fast reactor successfully achieved preliminary standard design. We will continue to solve its engineering technology challenges. As for the fusion reactor, in 2025, with national support, we established the China Fusion Energy Company in Shanghai. And our Huanliu-3, a platform for conducting research and development of fusion technology, made a big stride, with an iron temperature in it achieving 117 million Celsius and an electron temperature reaching 160 million Celsius. We will continue to adhere to the development strategy and focus on technological research and engineering technology development," Xin said.
The fourth session of the 14th NPC and the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC kicked off in Beijing on March 5 and March 4, respectively.
The "two sessions" -- which refer to the annual meetings of China's supreme organ of state power, the National People's Congress (NPC), and its top political advisory body, the National Committee of the CPPCC -- are a key event on the country's political calendar and offer a window into the country's development direction.
China's nuclear energy development makes great strides with three-step strategy: CPPCC member
