“Nantana” Senator presses 5 questions for the Minister of Commerce to handle the TEMU app from China, hoping to help SMEs. “Pichai” points out that Chinese products are just a side effect, but the root cause is COVID. He criticizes the Bank of Thailand, which must be the main factor in helping to revive the economy, not just the Treasury and the government. He insists on keeping a close watch and not allowing substandard Chinese products to enter the country. He emphasizes that Thailand still needs to rely on China.
The Senate meeting, chaired by Mr. Mongkol Surassajja, President of the Senate, considered a written question from Ms. Nantana Nantvaropas, Senator, to the Minister of Commerce regarding the government’s proposal of measures to address the dominance of transnational e-commerce to protect SMEs in Thailand. He said that the rapid changes in large transnational e-commerce platforms entering Thailand have had a significant impact on Thai SMEs. The latest platform is TEMU, a Chinese company that sell
s all kinds of products at very low prices by cutting out middlemen, which has allowed TEMU to quickly become successful in both America and Europe. They use the method of cutting costs to the lowest level. At the same time, people who buy these cheap products may end up with poor quality products or products that are close to expiration, contaminants that may be harmful to health, or products that are not as described. When products cannot be sold, they become waste, which is a problem today.
Ms. Nantana continued that importantly, Thai merchants have been fully affected because consumers order directly from factories that produce in China through such platforms. Thailand’s trade deficit with China has been increasing steadily. In the first 6 months of 2024, imports from China increased by 7.12% compared to the same period last year, totaling more than 1.33 trillion baht, resulting in Thailand’s trade deficit with China increasing by 15.66%. Previously, there was news that the minister asked for cooperation
through the ambassador for TM to register and set up a company in Thailand. I hope that it will actually happen because even South Korea was able to get TM to register in February. However, when checking, it was found that there were no executives at the location. There was only a sign showing the logo of TM, which is a challenge for the minister who invited them to set up the company. Meanwhile, the Thai-Chinese live commerce activity that brought in influencers to help sell Thai products is expected to exceed 1 billion baht in five days. The numbers are amazing, but they are not comparable to the amount of Thailand’s trade deficit with China, which is considered a superficial solution.
Ms. Nantana continued that she would like to ask the Ministry of Commerce 5 questions so that SMEs can see the light at the end of the tunnel: 1. What are the measures to solve the problem of domination from international e-commerce? 2. What are the measures to support and provide assistance to Thai SMEs who have been affect
ed? 3. What are the measures to deal with the problem of low-quality products that are harmful to consumers that come through international e-commerce platforms? 4. What is the strategic plan to solve the Thai-Chinese trade deficit? And 5. How will Thailand cooperate with ASEAN to solve this problem?
Mr. Pichai Naripthaphan, Minister of Commerce, explained that Thailand needs to rely on China because it is a large market. If we negotiate and sell products in China, we will benefit a lot. He invited the Chinese Ambassador to Thailand to discuss after assuming the position of Minister. China confirmed that it is ready to cooperate with Thailand in everything. One of the first things it will do is to make sure that Chinese products meet standards, such as passing the TIS, FDA, and having clear labels. China confirmed that it is ready to strictly comply with Thai laws and personally will not tolerate substandard products being sold. In addition, China confirmed that it will invest more in Thailand. However, the
important thing that it is interested in is that foreigners with advanced technology will invest more in Thailand.
Mr. Pichai also mentioned the case of the Chinese e-commerce platform team, saying that if it really comes to Thailand, it must pass various standards and will closely monitor Chinese products that come in. He confirmed that he will not be complacent and has measures to help SMEs, both creating new generations of SMEs with capabilities and solving SME problems. All ministries must integrate. We must look at the debt of SMEs because currently, the debt has increased a lot, making it difficult to move forward. The Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) must work together to solve the overall problem in order to move forward. Chinese products interfering with SMEs is one of the possible causes, but the root cause of the problem is COVID. Debt reduction is something that has happened in the past. Therefore, I would like the BOT to see it as normal. In other countries, it is normal to hel
p each other. The Ministry of Finance cooperates with the BOT, but the BOT has not yet agreed to reduce interest rates. When I came out to criticize the BOT, people criticized me.
‘I confirm that I am not criticizing the central bank, but if the economy is this bad, we must come up with measures to help it recover, like China, which came up with a big package to help, but in 10 years, the central bank has done nothing, even though it has a duty to help the economy. It is not just the Ministry of Finance or the government that has a duty, but the central bank has a duty to revive the economy worldwide. For example, in the US, if there is a problem, it injects money until the economy recovers. I confirm that I do not want to argue with anyone or have any grudges with anyone. Sometimes I may have spoken harshly because I know the people’s suffering. Both the Chamber of Commerce and the industrial sector called to say that they were going to fail anyway. Then, COVID hit, and interest rates were high in many thin
gs. We tried to solve it in every way, but we had to solve the overall picture as well. We wanted to solve everything at the same time, with cooperation from all parties. In the past, it was a crisis. How can we overcome the crisis?’ said Mr. Pichai.
Mr. Pichai reiterated that what the Ministry of Commerce is doing is accelerating trade negotiations to solve the problems of SME entrepreneurs. There will be an announcement soon. The Prime Minister has many programs to provide assistance because it is a main duty, including pushing new entrepreneurs to grow sustainably. He is willing to listen and solve problems for those who have problems.
Source: Thai News Agency