Portman, Renacci Urge Immediate Action by Thailand to Stop Skirting Trade Rules
Washington, D.C. – Last week, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and U.S. Representative Jim Renacci (R-OH-16) urged Thai Ambassador Chaiyong Satjipanon to restore the legitimate duty-free treatment for imports of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs)/Cash Dispensers under the World Trade Organization’s Information Technology Agreement (ITA). These machines are designed and imported into Thailand by Diebold of Canton, Ohio. Consultations between U.S. and Thai government officials on this matter are ongoing.
In the letter, Portman and Renacci write “Our constituent has attempted to work with Thai Customs to get this matter resolved without success. We would therefore request your assistance to ensure that Thailand conforms with its ITA obligations, our constituent is treated fairly by the Thai Customs Department, and this matter gets resolved as soon as possible.”
The full text of the letter is below. Read a signed copy here.
August 30, 2013
His Excellency Chaiyong Satjipanon
Ambassador
Royal Thai Embassy
1024 Wisconsin Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20007
Dear Mr. Ambassador:
We urge your government to take immediate action to restore the legitimate duty-free treatment for imports of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs)/Cash Dispensers under the World Trade Organization’s Information Technology Agreement (ITA). These machines are being manufactured and imported into your country by a constituent company of ours, Diebold, of Canton, Ohio.
Diebold has supplied ATMs/Cash Dispensers to Thailand since 1999. Your government determined that these machines qualified for duty-free treatment under the ITA on multiple occasions. In 2004 the Ministry of Finance determined that Diebold’s Cash Dispensers qualified for duty-free treatment under the ITA as ATMs, as did the Standard Procedure and Customs Valuation Directorate (SPCVD) in 2005. Diebold relied on these determinations to import Automated Teller Machines/Cash Dispensers into Thailand free of duty.
In a surprise action in 2009, the Thai Customs Department reversed itself and imposed a 20 percent duty on Diebold’s Cash Dispensers, which it threatened to impose retroactively to 2003. The Thai Customs Department appeared to rely on a 2008 Thai Supreme Court ruling concerning an entirely different type of equipment. Diebold has been told that its only recourse is to file an appeal with the Central Tax Court, a lengthy and costly legal proceeding. The deadline for doing so is October 2, 2013.
The Thai Customs Department’s ruling to impose import duties is inconsistent with Thailand’s obligations under the ITA. ITA signatories—and we should note a number of major partners in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations—the United States, Canada, Japan and Malaysia, all recognize ATMs/Cash Dispensers as qualifying for duty-free entry.
Our constituent has attempted to work with Thai Customs to get this matter resolved without success. We would therefore request your assistance to ensure that Thailand conforms with its ITA obligations, our constituent is treated fairly by the Thai Customs Department, and this matter gets resolved as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Jim Renacci Rob Portman
United States Representative United States Senator