The Commerce Ministry and relevant agencies plan to sign a memorandum of understanding with e-commerce platforms by early next year to prevent substandard imported products.
Following a committee meeting focused on substandard imports and unlawful foreign businesses on Dec 9, Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan mandated ministry officials and 16 state agencies work together to resolve these issues, seeking clear results within three months.
"During the meeting, we agreed to implement notifications and takedown protocols, urging platforms to swiftly remove substandard products that lack Thai-language labels or infringe on copyright to protect consumers from substandard goods," said Mr Pichai.
In addition, training programmes will be developed to strengthen the capabilities of Thai entrepreneurs and add value to their products, he said.
The ministry earlier set a goal to increase the GDP contribution of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from 35.2% in 2023 to 40% by 2027.
This year, two subcommittees were formed to promote the efficiency of SMEs and to address issues related to substandard imports and nominee businesses.
Various protective measures have already been implemented, including a short-term strategy where the Customs Department collects 7% value-added tax on imports valued at less than 1,500 baht, which generated 823 million baht between July 5 and November 2024.
Inspections of full container load shipments have increased from 20% to 30%, and quality checks now include 100% X-ray screenings at checkpoints in Mukdahan and Nakhon Phanom.
Moreover, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ramped up product sample testing for contaminants, rising from 500 to 5,000 samples per year and reducing testing times from three days to one.
The FDA inspected 34 companies, uncovering 30,393 violations.
The Thai Industrial Standard Institute (TISI) increased the monthly inspection of products listed on online platforms from 1,080 to 1,620 URLs. Some 59 violations were identified, resulting in damages exceeding 33 million baht.
The Office of the Consumer Protection Board investigated products that must comply with consumer protection laws and detected 159 violations, leading to damages amounting to 28 million baht.
Recent measures resulted in a 27% decline in Chinese imports via e-commerce platforms, dropping from a monthly average of 3.1 billion baht to 2.28 billion.
In 2025, more robust law enforcement, added personnel and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline operations is planned.
For instance, TISI is expanding online inspections to cover 3,000 URLs each month and developing an AI system, while adding more products to the standard control list.
In addition, the Foreign Trade Department is accelerating the consideration of using anti-dumping/countervailing duty and safeguard measures for imported products.
To curb nominee businesses, the Business Development Department set up a complaint centre specifically for offences related to nominees.
According to Deputy Commerce Minister Napintorn Srisunpang, from Sept 1 to Dec 4, 747 cases were prosecuted resulting in total damages of 11.7 billion baht.
In the longer term, Thailand wants to amend certain laws to empower the Business Development Department to prevent high-risk individuals, particularly transnational criminals, from registering businesses.