New commerce minister vows to tackle high living costs, Chinese imports

New Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan pledged immediate action to tackle high living costs, hasten free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations, and tighten control over the influx of Chinese imports.

Pichai, after his first day in office, expressed readiness to collaborate with deputy commerce ministers Napintorn Srisanphang and Suchat Chomklin to address the pressing need to drive Thailand’s economy during a crisis.

The ministry’s policies will be revealed following the government’s policy presentation to Parliament, which is scheduled for today and tomorrow. These policies aim to reduce living costs, ensure better produce prices, support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), promote the use of FTAs, and manage the influx of inexpensive, low-quality imports.

A meeting with ministry executives is set for September 16 to allocate responsibilities to the relevant agencies under the ministry’s supervision.

Urgent measures are necessary to address the escalating cost of goods in Thailand and to control the influx of Chinese imports, stated Pichai.

Pichai prioritised reviewing product costs and collaborating with businesses to lower prices, thereby alleviating the public’s financial burden.

Regarding Chinese imports, Pichai acknowledged the challenges and stated that current measures would be reassessed. Should existing regulations prove insufficient, additional steps will be introduced. However, he refrained from singling out Chinese products to avoid giving the impression that Thailand opposes Chinese imports, reported Bangkok Post.

Expediting FTA negotiations with other countries is crucial, as more agreements could attract increased foreign investment to Thailand, Pichai emphasised.

In related news, the Thai e-commerce landscape is about to face a major upheaval, warns Pawoot Pongvitayapanu, CEO of Creden.co and PaySolutions. Speaking on Krungthep Turakij’s Deep Talk programme, Pawoot cautioned that the arrival of the Chinese online retail giant Temu could spell trouble for local retailers already battling fierce competition.

Pawoot highlighted that while Thai consumers are already familiar with cheap Chinese goods via platforms like Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop, Temu’s direct-to-consumer model presents a new level of disruption.