"This is sort of like a sanction," he said, adding that Thai products would be more expensive because the country does not have a tariff advantage, which make it less competitive against other nations.
Pichai said turning to Japan for an economic lift was not a realistic option because its economy had not fully recovered, while China's was slowing.
It is not possible that exports, estimated to decline by 5.5 per cent last year, would bounce back to 5-per-cent growth this year, he said.
Worse still, investment in the country will continue to shrink because foreign investors will not want to take the risk, fearing that Thailand will be hit with more trade barriers besides the GSP issue, he said.
Foreign investors are also put off by the decisions by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the US Federal Aviation Authority to downgrade Thailand over aviation standards, as well as by the issue of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, he said. Pichai said the country's human-rights violations and people being charged with offences that were not in line with international norms also shook investor confidence in the country.