Thailand remains on US trade ‘watch list’

Washington urges tougher enforcement against intellectual property violations by smaller operators

The United States has kept Thailand on its trade watch list for another year, urging stricter enforcement against online piracy platforms and targeting of more small-scale violators of intellectual property.

The decision was announced by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in its annual Special 301 report released on Friday in Washington, DC.

Thailand has been on the watch list for 10 consecutive years after being removed from the priority watch list, where the country had been from 2007 to 2017.

Eighteen other US trading partners on the watch list, meaning they are being called on by Washington to address underlying intellectual property (IP) problems: Algeria, Argentina, Barbados, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, the European Union, Guatemala, Mexico, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago and Turkey.

The report stated that the US acknowledged Thailand’s progress on draft amendments to the Patent Act and Copyright Act, which are intended to facilitate accession to the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT).

The USTR hailed the increase in effective seizures, shutdown of TV broadcast piracy services and raids on targeted premises by Thai police, customs and Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) officials.

One notable development, the report said, was the termination of rental agreements for tenants arrested on charges of IP violations at the MBK Center in Pathum Wan district of Bangkok, which was on the Notorious Markets List last year.

Despite actions taken against warehouses and distribution centres, online channels offering counterfeit and pirated goods are still readily available, it said.

Thai authorities are urged to focus on offences by small operators instead of targeting only high-level distributors and manufacturing operations. The volume of such goods has returned to previous levels, the report said, though enforcement in tourist areas temporarily reduced the visibility of counterfeit goods.

Rights holders also report insufficient enforcement and deterrence against growing online piracy by devices and applications that allow users to stream and download unauthorised content, with concerns that criminal proceedings against online piracy are lengthy.

“Even if there are ultimately convictions, the penalties are insufficient to deter future infringing behaviour,” the report said.

According to the Thai DIP, from October 2025 to March 2026, authorities recorded 332 intellectual property infringement cases across both physical sites and online platforms. More than 1.3 million counterfeit items were seized, with the estimated economic damage exceeding 2.3 billion baht.

The US has also urged Thailand to fix it copyright law to make it easier to take action against illegal recording in movie theatres and narrow exceptions that allow people to bypass digital protections.

Oramon Sapthaweetham, director‑general of the Thai DIP, said on Saturday that the government has prioritised addressing the issues that remain a concern for the US, saying that pushing for Thailand’s removal from the watch list remains a key objective of the department.

Progress will be continuously communicated to the US, while the department also implements the Work Plan jointly developed with the USTR to achieve concrete results, she added.