BANGKOK — The Ministry of Commerce has reported progress in combating the flooding of the Thai market with cheap foreign products through various online platforms and investments in local warehousing systems, which have significantly affected local businesses.
The Department of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Commerce will convene a meeting on August 23 with service and logistics companies and 12 relevant government and private sector agencies to discuss the current situation, challenges and proposed short, medium and long-term solutions.
Among the urgent measures being discussed is the proposal that the Ministry of Digital Economy (DE) and Society should use its statutory power to establish guidelines for foreign business platforms. This would involve working with the authorities responsible for product quality and safety and setting price regulations before moving on to the details of import duties and non-tariff measures.
“The problem of cheap goods and dumping of foreign products in Thailand is likely to worsen in the future. This may not be limited to China; other Asian countries also see opportunities to penetrate the Thai market. We will begin to enforce existing laws across government agencies,” said an official.
He stated that online platforms fall under the purview of the DE Ministry, tax issues are handled by the Ministry of Finance, product standards are overseen by the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Health, and non-tariff measures are administered by the Ministry of Commerce.
In the short term, we need to consider the extent to which safeguard measures can be taken against increased imports. Anti-dumping and countervailing measures will take more time to consider, study and implement, which could take a year or more.
The 12 agencies involved in the meeting include the Department of Foreign Trade (DFT), Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), Department of Business Development (DBD), representatives from the Thai Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Thai Industries, Transport and Logistics Association of Thailand, Shippers’ Council of Thailand, Wholesale and Retail Trade Association, Tourism Association and other relevant industries including education, engineering and architecture.
Previously, the Ministry of Commerce had held talks with government agencies and trade associations and invited representatives from Thai business associations to discuss the situation, focusing on sectors such as ceramics, clothing, footwear, building materials and personal care products.
Wanchai Phanomchai, secretary-general of the Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI), explained that the TISI inspects substandard products that could pose a risk to consumers on the instructions of the Minister of Industry and is actively working on these tasks. The “Quick Win” initiative has focused on removing substandard products from the market, including online sales.
From September 2023 to July 2024, TISI confiscated non-compliant products worth 322.4 million baht. Of these, 92.7 million baht worth of non-compliant goods were imported from neighboring countries, accounting for 29 percent of the total.
The TISI has also increased the number of product standards this year by over 1,400, in addition to the existing 2,722 standards, and is in the process of declaring 52 more products as controlled goods, in addition to the existing 144 standards.
These standards cover products that are important for public safety, such as stainless steel containers and tableware, pans/spatulas/pots/spoons/forks/cans/trays, plastic bags for food packaging, microwave-safe food bags, household stoves that run on LPG, rubber and plastic hoses for use with LPG, car window films, plastic containers for drinking water, electric seat covers for flush toilets, child seats and solar panels.
In addition, TISI has developed other strategies to prevent access to non-compliant products via online platforms, including:
- Accelerating the understanding and clarification of laws for companies providing shipping and customs clearance services to prevent the importation of non-compliant products.
- Raising public awareness of the choice of products with standard seals on online platforms.
- Integrate work with Customs to ensure that imported products on online platforms comply with standards.
- Coordinate with the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) to monitor online platforms.
- Working with the Consumer Council to protect consumers.
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