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Published on December 12, 2007

A new consumer protection bill will not affect responsible product makers and business owners, but boost confidence of foreign investors and Thai consumers' standard of living, a Bangkok seminar was told yesterday.

The Responsibility for Unsafe Products Bill is set to undergo a third and final hearing in the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) tomorrow.

Dr Prawit Leesathaphorn-wongsa, an official at the National Economic and Social Advisory Council, said the bill would reduce substandard products from being sold in Thai markets and increase living standards for Thai people, said.

Prawit said the bill had been worked on for nearly 10 years, withstanding indirect resistance from business owners and product makers.

When passed, the law will allow the Consumer Protec-tion Board (CPB) to lodge lawsuits against makers of unsafe or extremely bad products on behalf of consumers free of charge.

Chairat Saeng-arun, another Council member, called on NLA members with connections to business entities not to object to the bill. But he said if the bill was blocked, concerned members could still seek to get it passed later.

He said it was not necessary to set up an independent body to inspect products that were subject to consumer complaints, a condition demanded recently by the Federation of Thai Industries, as the CPB could do the job with full transparency.

Duangjai Koosrivinij, president of the Thai Toy Industry Association, called for strong action against the use of fake Industry Standard logos on low-quality or unsafe toys and other products.

She believed responsible makers of toys or other products would lend their support to the bill, once it was enacted.

The Nation