The challenges of anti-dumping law enforcement in Thailand through the lens of Thai legal culture

Abstract

This thesis analyzes Thailand's anti-dumping law (1999–2021) and the legal culture surrounding anti-dumping enforcement in Thailand, as well as the context of this law amendment. It makes an attempt to address the following research questions: How does Thailand's legal culture affect the enforcement of the anti-dumping law framework and its amendment? What are the internal legal cultures and external pressures affecting anti-dumping law enforcement? To answer these two questions, this thesis employs legal realism as a theoretical framework for assessing Thailand's anti-dumping legislation. This thesis examines three factors related to the problem of anti-dumping law enforcement through the lens of legal culture: intervention in the AD consideration process; policy and investment cooperation between the Thai government and foreign countries; and the increasing use of AD measures by emerging countries. From analysis, this thesis suggests that despite efforts to close systemic loopholes, political parties' engagement in investigations and discretionary power are unsolved legal cultural concerns and a significant impediment to AD enforcement. The thesis also argues that the course of anti-dumping proceedings in Thailand is influenced by the government's public policy and the administration's internal rules on AD, rather than by the actual legal criterion specified in the AD Act, which is modeled after the WTO. In other words, while AD law is important, it is not the primary factor in determining the final AD determination, particularly when the AD committee has complete discretion and is not subject to the checks and balances principle with DFT. The continued influence of politicians and large business corporations, the consistency with which ministerial regulations or ministry announcements are issued, as well as Thailand's economic benefits from large-scale infrastructure projects jointly invested with foreign governments, are all significant factors influencing the enforcement of anti-dumping law. Meanwhile, downstream business protection, Thailand's weak law enforcement system, and Thai government agencies' hypotheses to solve problems that deviate from the real problems are the main factors impeding the anti-dumping law from being effectively applied and protecting businesses within Thailand in accordance with the law’s purpose.