Pawoot warns that Thai SMEs are facing 'China Shock 2.0' sooner than anticipated, causing Thailand's trade deficit with China to leap by 2 trillion baht. He urges urgent action to close vulnerabilities before Thai industries go bankrupt.
On 19 Apr 2026 GMT+7, Pawoot Pongvitayapanu, a party-list MP from the Prachachon Party, posted on Facebook regarding a post shared by 'Noom Muang Chan' about China's severe product overcapacity flooding ASEAN, including Thailand, at full force. He said the silent threat is that Chinese goods are more than half the price of Thai products.
They also ship very quickly, causing Thailand's trade deficit with China to surge by trillions of baht. Meanwhile, many Thai factories are shutting down in clusters, and traditional crafts like ‘Very Thai’ are dying alongside these SME factories. This is like allowing the 'Black-barbel Fish' (a metaphor for invasive species) to enter the Thai design ecosystem. Therefore, Thailand's survival must rely on 'intellect and taste,' not 'iron and wood.'
MP Pawoot added that Thailand should develop an un-copyable DNA and stop selling just ‘products,’ but instead sell ‘Solution & Curation.’ Even if China can copy a chair, it cannot copy an understanding of the Thai context. Additionally, Thailand should create a Hybrid Model (70/30 formula): use 70% of China's cheap supply chain mixed with 30% of 'Thai craft signatures' to support local factories and keep them employed, and employ genuine soft power—not just elephants or mythical designs but a language consumers are willing to pay for because it represents 'Thai design.'
Mexico uses tariff walls
and cited other countries that have successfully managed this issue, such as
1. Mexico and Indonesia use a model of tariffs and closing loopholes, opting for ‘strong medicine’ because their domestic industries were beginning to collapse.
The result: factories in Mexico started operating again, and there was a trend of ‘Nearshoring,’ where foreign companies (including Chinese firms) set up production in Mexico instead of exporting from China to avoid tariffs and supply the US, thus creating local employment.
Indonesia imposes safeguard duties to counter dumping.
Indonesia uses safeguard duties as high as 100-200% on textiles and ceramics, successfully preventing ‘mass extinction’ of domestic SMEs and has ordered ‘cancellation of de minimis tax exemptions’ for imported goods from apps like Shein or Temu priced below the threshold, to avoid unfair advantages over local shops.
‘Elevate DNA through innovation.’
2. Using the model of ‘elevating DNA through innovation,’ like Italy, which does not compete on price but with the 'Made in Italy 2026 Vision.' This might interest you as a person with specific tastes: Italy uses 3D prototyping and AI technologies to assist artisans in reducing design costs while maintaining craftsmanship that China cannot copy, along with cultural storytelling to make global consumers believe that buying Italian furniture means buying history and spirit, not just a chair.
The outcome: no matter how cheap Chinese goods are, Italian products still dominate the high-end market firmly and their export value continues to rise because they have created ‘emotional barriers’ that copies cannot cross.
‘Bring supply chains home.’
3. Using the model of 'bringing supply chains home,' India uses the Make in India program and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, providing subsidies and tax incentives to companies producing domestically, especially in electronics and technology sectors.
The result: In 2025, India successfully relocated 25-30% of iPhone production domestically and exported worldwide, shifting from an importer to a manufacturer in many sectors within a few years.
Thailand responds more slowly than peers.
MP Pawoot said that in terms of 'vulnerability,' Thailand ranks among the top three ASEAN countries along with Vietnam and Indonesia. However, in terms of 'response speed,' Thailand is slower, causing its trade deficit with China to leap by over 2 trillion baht in 2025, the most alarming figure in history. This results from Thailand's weaknesses, including tax and customs loopholes (such as Free Trade Zones and policies allowing minor imports), making Thai laws currently very weak and allowing Chinese goods to 'flow' into grassroots levels more easily than in countries with stricter protectionism measures.
