Thailand Intensifies Clampdown on Rogue Foreign Trade Practices

Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan spearheads an inter-agency drive to tackle low-quality imports, fraudulent 'Thai' labelling, and foreign nominee businesses, aiming to shield the economy amidst global trade tensions

 

Thailand's Commerce Minister, Pichai Naripthaphan, has announced a decisive push to curb the inflow of substandard imported goods, the fraudulent mislabelling of products as 'Thai', and the operations of nominee businesses facilitating foreign interests.

 

This wide-ranging initiative targets nearly 47,000 suspicious companies, aiming to fortify Thailand's economic system against the impacts of global trade disputes.

 

Pichai revealed the details following a meeting to review progress on Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's directives concerning the management and resolution of issues involving foreign businesses and goods violating Thai law.

 

The meeting saw key attendance from Napintorn Srisanpang, Deputy Commerce Minister; Vuttikrai Leewiraphan, Permanent Secretary for Commerce; Arada Fuangtong, Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade; ML  Phuthong Thongyai, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Business Development; and other senior ministry officials.

 

A significant stride in this endeavour is the integrated cooperation between the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Interior.

 

This collaboration has led to the establishment of provincial-level task forces specifically mandated to suppress offences related to illegal business operations, including investigating, interrogating, apprehending, and prosecuting nominee business culprits.
  

These task forces are set to scrutinise a target list of 46,918 legal entities nationwide, with each province required to investigate foreign businesses violating laws and report their findings within three months.

 

The meeting's primary objective was to accelerate the implementation of the Prime Minister's policy across five key areas:


Registration of nominee companies.
Smuggling of substandard goods.
Fraudulent misrepresentation of goods as 'Thai'.
Foreign-owned factories operating in breach of regulations.
Transshipment of goods (where goods are routed through Thailand to circumvent trade rules).


 

Relevant agencies have been assigned urgent tasks to address these issues.

 

The Department of Foreign Trade, for instance, is coordinating with the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) to enforce laws against e-commerce platforms. 

 

The Customs Department and the Department of Industrial Works are tasked with inspecting product quality within Free Zones.

 

Furthermore, the Public Relations Department will disseminate information on enforcement outcomes and raise awareness among businesses.
 

  

Efforts also include developing data linkages to verify product origins and refining laws concerning transshipment, with the overarching aim of establishing Thailand as a leading logistics hub.

 


"The Prime Minister places immense importance on regulating imported goods and foreign businesses that flout the law to protect the national interest," Pichai stated. "The Commerce Ministry has instructed the Department of Business Development and the Department of Foreign Trade to promptly inform all relevant agencies of their assigned tasks and report their progress to the committee without delay."


 

Since September 2024 to May 2025, agencies operating under the committee have already prosecuted over 57,739 cases involving illegal goods, accounting for damages exceeding 2.287 billion baht.

 

During the same period, 1.875 billion baht in import duties was collected from goods valued under 1,500 baht. Authorities have also utilised "Notice and Takedown" measures to remove over 14,976 illegal items from online platforms and pursued legal action against 861 nominee businesses, revealing damages exceeding 15.296 billion baht.

 

Concurrently, to prepare for potential surges in imports resulting from foreign tariff measures, the Commerce Ministry is expediting the investigation period for trade protection and countervailing measures, aiming to complete probes in less than one year. It is also collaborating closely with the private sector to monitor the situation, ensuring the effective use of safeguard measures to protect the domestic market.

(2025/06/12-00:00)