The Thai government has set itself the goal of curbing the influx of cheap Chinese goods into the Southeast Asian country.
After a weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday, now-deposed Thai Prime Minister Strettha Thavisin said the Ministry of Commerce would take the lead on the initiative, local media reported.
China is Thailand’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $135 billion last year. However, the influx of Chinese goods into the Kingdom and other countries in the region has raised concerns about the impact on domestic markets and prompted governments to act.
Thailand’s trade authorities have been tasked with working with other government ministries and departments, as well as the Royal Thai Police, to develop a catalogue of measures by the end of the month to increase the competitiveness of local small businesses.
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Government spokesman Chai Wacharonke said the initiative was prompted by a growing number of complaints from the private sector about illegal trading activities by foreign companies.
“These companies have affected SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) that are affected by e-commerce both online and offline,” said the Bangkok Post quoted him as saying, “It was found that there was an unusually high influx of imported goods, with e-commerce business valued at up to 1.53 trillion baht ($38.6 billion).”
Trade Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that Thailand must adapt to the changing landscape of global trade. New taxes on e-commerce are under discussion to ensure fair competition and prevent “damage to the domestic economy.”
He described the entry of Chinese e-commerce platform Temu into Thailand as “both an opportunity and a challenge” for businesses in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy. Phumtham also said his ministry attaches “great importance” to finding opportunities for Thai entrepreneurs looking to enter major markets such as China.
The Chinese embassy in Thailand did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.
The Thai government is looking for ways to support its SMEs, which account for 99 percent of businesses and 35.2 percent of the country’s GDP, Southeast Asia-focused news and analysis platform ASEAN Briefing wrote earlier this year, and Bangkok aims to increase this share to 40 percent of GDP by 2027.
In July, a 7 percent value-added tax on imports costing less than 1,500 baht (about $43) came into force.
Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday decided to remove Prime Minister Srettha from office over alleged ethics violations. Srettha had appointed a minister who had previously been in prison for attempting to bribe a court official.
It is unclear what impact this will have on trade policy going forward, but Srettha’s cabinet will continue to run the business in a caretaker capacity until parliament elects a new prime minister.
