Alcohol policy in Thailand - building an evidence base for reforms through regional comparison

At the first UK-Thailand Joint Economic Trade Committee (JETCO) in June 2022, the UK raised several alcohol market access barriers. Minister Mordaunt and Minister Jurin agreed to a JETCO workplan including cooperation on alcohol through "information sharing sessions" covering three specific barriers: the non-specific excise tax system, sample import regulation, and product labelling. Industry estimate that resolving these specific barriers could enable additional exports worth £79m/5years

We now need to implement the JETCO workplan, and deliver these "information sharing sessions" in a manner which best makes progress on the barriers

To support this, we propose to commission a project to deliver an independent comparative study on Thailand's alcohol regulatory environment. This project would: • explore how different ASEAN Member States' policies vary and compare to Thailand's approach, focusing particularly on the two specific barriers identified in the JETCO workplan • assess the linkages between ASEAN Member States' policies and the benefits those Member States derive from those policies Scope of the study covers: 1. Labelling regulations in Thailand and 5 ASEAN countries (70%) 2. Excise tax system in Thailand and 5 ASEAN countries (30%)

This study should cover the comparison of Thailand and other 5 ASEAN countries as well as identify relevant benefits associated to their alcohol regulations and short and long term suggestions to Thailand regarding the alcohol regulatory regime to increase the overall economic benefit to both private and government sector.

Submission of proposals should be as per the instructions in the attached RFP document