Chandler MHM

Newsletter

Carmakers’ Signed and Retracted Price War Ceasefire in Shanghai and Potential Effects in Thailand

One of the common raisons d’etre of anti-trust regulations around the world is to prohibit arrangement between competitors. The most obvious, straight-forward, and effective arrangement is on prices.  Arrangement on prices, whether direct fixing, range fixing, increment fixing, or any other types of indirect fixing, will have predictable impact on the market and consumers, including stagnation of prices, reduction of competition, commercial and corporate complacency, all of which lead to reduction in research and development and service development. The Thai Trade Competition Act of 2017 addresses this issue in a very direct and harsh manner, with a possibility of a financially destructive fine and even imprisonment of up to two years for those who have joined a cartel.  The law does not care if the domestic cartel is pursuant to an order of the offshore parents or the Thai subsidiaries’ own volition.