Thailand is to set up a task force to strictly enforce existing regulations aimed at stemming the tide of cheap Chinese imports threatening the manufacturing sector and an already weak economy, a minister said yesterday.
The move comes amid warnings that many Thai businesses might not survive what the main manufacturing association has called a tsunami of cheap Chinese goods, which has already contributed to nearly 2,000 factory closures in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy in the past year.
The Thai economy is expected to grow 2.6 percent this year on tourism and exports, but would be dragged down by manufacturing.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Factory output for the first half of this year fell 2.01 percent from a year earlier, government data showed.
Thailand is to set up a task force comprising 28 government agencies that will meet every two weeks to review and revise regulations to prevent the distribution of illegal goods, Acting Thai Minister of Commerce Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters.
“We will use existing measures more extensively,” Phumtham said, adding that these regulations comply with global trade rules.
Other measures include increasing the number of controlled goods under industrial and drug laws, and ramping up the frequency of random container inspections, he said.
Thailand in June introduced a 7 percent value-added tax on imported goods priced at less than 1,500 baht (US$44).
However, the launch of Chinese e-commerce firm Temu in Thailand last month has stoked fresh fears among small businesses that cheaper imported goods would decimate their businesses.
The Thai government said it was in discussions with the Chinese embassy about concerns over the online platform’s compliance with local tax law, Phumtham said.
The Chinese embassy in Bangkok did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
“We are not discriminating against any country, but ready to make adjustments if current rules cannot address these problems and society’s concerns,” Phumtham said.
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