Showing 1 - 10 of 62
Our tariff-era dollar, your problem
Oped, Qiyuan Xu, Published on 04/02/2026
» In 2025, the dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of major currencies, fell by roughly 9.4%. Over the same period, the United States' average effective tariff rate rose by around 14.4 percentage points, from 2.4% to 16.8%, according to the Yale Budget Lab. Taken together, these shifts imply that, in the import trade domain, the US experienced an effective exchange-rate depreciation of around 24%.
Baht headache
Oped, Postbag, Published on 18/12/2025
» Re: "BoT cracks down on surging baht", (Business, Dec 17). While the baht's currency strength is an ever-more concerning issue, as pointed out numerous times, what is rarely mentioned is the likely excess Thai foreign reserves, nearing an astonishing US$270 billion.
Asean must strengthen cohesion
Oped, Anwar Ibrahim, Published on 17/09/2025
» Since its founding in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has cultivated a reputation for trust and dialogue that has made the region synonymous with peace, stability, and dynamism. The achievements of our ten member states -- soon to be eleven with Timor-Leste's expected admission later in 2025 -- are rooted in a culture of consensus, open communication, and solidarity. This tradition of cooperation has enabled Asean to manage tensions, prevent conflict, and nurture prosperity across one of the world's most diverse regions.
Rare earths are definitely China's trump card
Oped, Angela Huyue Zhang, Published on 15/08/2025
» China's weaponisation of rare earths has emerged as a major flash point in US-China trade negotiations. These critical materials, especially the high-performance magnets they make possible, are vital components in electric vehicles (EVs), wind turbines, industrial robotics, and advanced defence systems. In response to China's strict rare-earths export controls, the United States has quietly lowered tariffs, relaxed export controls on AI chips, and even softened visa restrictions for Chinese students.
Trump hurting global trade in ideas
Oped, Sally Tyler, Published on 04/08/2025
» Much attention has been focused on Thailand's scramble to achieve a bilateral trade agreement with the United States to avoid a 36% tariff on all exported goods. Yet a different restrictive trade policy has received comparatively less scrutiny -- the Trump administration's clampdown on American universities, including a possible ban on the enrolment of international students.
Time to tackle toxic spill
News, Editorial, Published on 15/04/2025
» As the problem of scammer gangs in Myawaddy, Myanmar, tapers off, another serious transboundary problem emerged with the Pollution Control Department, under the Environmental Ministry, issuing a ban on April 4 against the use of water in the Kok River, which runs from Myanmar into Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai provinces.
When disasters create unlikely alliances
Oped, Zoltán Grossman, Published on 15/03/2025
» Disasters are tragic and frightening events, whether emerging from the climate crisis, armed conflict, or health catastrophe. They reveal deep social inequalities and compel fear and insecurity. But times of catastrophe can also serve as opportunities to turn toward collective resilience and mutual aid and build unlikely alliances between communities.
DSI considers all-out war with Senate
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 24/02/2025
» The sound of beating war drums is getting louder as the Justice Ministry and its sidekick, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), go on the warpath against the Senate -- the first confrontation of its kind -- over allegations that the senatorial election last June was fraught with collusion and bloc voting.
Vintage tonnage keeps Russian oil flowing
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 17/01/2025
» The name is brilliant: "vintage tonnage". It evokes 17th-century pirate vessels flying the skull-and-crossbones, 18th-century ships-of-the-line bristling with cannons, or even 19th-century clipper ships in full sail bringing tea to England and America. The images are always romantic and often beautiful.
Expelling drug lords at the border
Editorial, Published on 22/12/2024
» The Thai-Myanmar border has always been a security challenge for Thailand, but the United Wa State Army (UWSA) has turned parts of it into a serious drug trafficking and humanitarian nightmare.