The Problems Us Dumping and Subsidy Regulations Pose for Thailand: Evidence From the Steel and Pineapple Sectors

This research examines the problems unfair trade laws create for the developing and newly industrialized countries of Asia by investigating the difficulties US antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) regulations create for Thailand.AD regulations restrict imports sold at abnormally low prices.CVD laws eliminate the advantages conferred when governments give exporters subsidies.American AD and CVD laws are a potent means for protecting US producers because Congress has extended their reach and because they can be employed by American corporations to harass foreign competitors.Interviews with Thai government officials and representatives from the steel and pineapple industries indicate that these American laws pose many problems for Thai exporters.Among these problems are the complexity of US regulations, the cost of hiring US attorneys to respond to American investigations, the limited time allowed for responding to requests for information, the business lost when contracts are canceled because a Thai firm faces an AD or CVD investigation, and the excessive reliance of the Thais on US attorneys for training.