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Surakiart Sathirathai, Ammar Siamwalla, GATT Law, Agricultural Trade, and Developing Countries: Lessons from Two Case Studies, The World Bank Economic Review, Volume 1, Issue 4, September 1987, Pages 595–618, https://doi.org/10.1093/wber/1.4.595
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Abstract
This article examines the relevance and applicability of the law of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to two specific problems faced by Thailand: the negotiations of a voluntary export restraint agreement on cassava with the European Economic Community and the increased subsidies on rice given by the United States under the Food Security Act of 1985.
In the case of cassava, Thailand appears to have had parts of GATT law on its side, but the government was very reluctant to use the law to its own advantage. This reluctance was due to unclear procedures under GATT as to how to make effective use of these legal advantages. On the rice subsidy issue, conversely, the substantive law is unclear and provides limited protection for competing exporters.
The wider lesson drawn from the two cases is that GATT's law should be modified and its role reevaluated so that both developed and developing countries can participate more fully in the GATT system. This will be necessary if the GATT's laws are to become useful instruments in the hands of developing countries in their bilateral negotiations with contracting parties which are the more powerful economically.
