Unfair trade competition

Published on 9/16/2021 - Issue Q3/2021

In 2017, Thailand enacted the Trade Competition Act B.E. 2560, a dedicated act to ensure fair competition in Thailand. In 2018, The Office of the Trade Commission introduced guidelines on the details of unfair trade practices.

These unfair trade practices namely are:

• unfairly obstructing the business of other operators;
• unfairly utilizing superior market or bargaining power;
• unfairly setting trading conditions that restrict or prevent the operations of others; and
• conducting business in other ways deemed unfair to other business operators.

Now, the Office of the Trade Commission is holding hearings on amending and changing these guidelines, namely clarifying certain definitions, introducing relevant thresholds and increasing the list of potentially unfair trade practices.

The final version of the guidelines remains to be seen. However, overall, the hearing and the proposed changes are beneficial to the cause of ensuring fair trade practices in Thailand.