The Department of Foreign Trade (DFT) in Thailand is streamlining trade regulations to eliminate redundancies and stay current with the changing global trade landscape. The department is aiming to remove eight regulations concerning the importation and exportation of goods by the end of the year. This move is expected to simplify business procedures and enhance the competitiveness of Thai businesses.
DFT Director-General Ronnarong Phoolpipat stated that the department has already removed ten regulations in 2021 and 2022. The DFT is now working on the next set of eight regulations to be eliminated by the end of the year.
Mr. Ronnarong also revealed that the DFT is reviewing a regulation on coffee exports. The Cabinet has recently given its approval to permit the export of roasted coffee beans that are made from imported beans or a mix of imported and locally grown beans. This decision will replace the previous policy of exporting only roasted coffee beans made from domestically grown beans. The director-general estimates that this change will generate an additional value of 50-100 million baht for Thai coffee exports each year.
Moreover, the Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Act is also under review by the DFT. This law allows the imposition of anti-dumping duties on importers to prevent foreign goods from undercutting prices in Thailand. The DFT organized a public opinion input period for proposed revisions to the act from January 1-31. Most participants supported the revisions, with some proposing further amendments. One proposed amendment aims to define replacement products that may circumvent anti-dumping duties. The DFT has already submitted its report on the act to the Office of the Council of State for further processing.
The DFT’s efforts to remove unnecessary trade regulations will enhance the ease of doing business and promote competitiveness in the global market for Thai companies.
