The outcome of this case enabled Thailand to continue producing and exporting a large amount of sugar at a less-distorted price. Without over-subsidized sugar from the EC, the Thai sugar trade will mitigate Thai cane farmers’ poverty, and offset the trade deficit in some degree from non-agricultural imports. As a developing country highly dependent on agricultural exports, Thailand benefits from the law of agricultural export subsidies which provides a mechanism to end illegal subsidies from the powerful member like the EC. When other countries over-subsidize their agricultural products, developing countries can assert their rights under the Agreement.

         However, the law of agricultural export subsidies needs further development. The “reduction commitments” standard still allows WTO Members to subsidized their products so long as subsidization does not exceed the ceiling provided in the commitments. As a result, exporting countries not subsidizing their products, like Thailand in this case, are still affected by the distortion caused by export subsidies. The brunt of the impact is on poor farmers.

          In the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), WTO Members tentatively agreed to use the “reduction commitments” standard again and consequently remove all types of agricultural export subsidies by the end of 2013.(123) However, it is not certain that the result will obtain. Past arguments about agricultural trade are being resurrected and history will probably be repeated. The U.S. and the Cairns Group again are on the free trade side, and the EC is standing opposed. Undoubtedly, they want the result of the negotiations to fit their domestic policies and interests. A new compromise agreement may not further the liberalization of trade to the benefit of developing countries. If the new agreement includes a higher level of free trade than the “reduction commitments” standard, it will also likely exact other concessions, within or apart from the agricultural sector. Like the previous round, the less-powerful countries reached the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) in exchange of putting the “reduction commitments” standard into the AoA. A new agreement of this kind might raise a new dilemma.

APPENDIX
Thailand Population between 1979 and 2004

Population (million)	1979-1981	1989-1991	1999-2001	2003	2004
Total population	46.33	54.39	60.92	62.83	63.47
Population in rural area	33.93 (73%)	38.39 (71%)	41.95 (69%)	42.84 (68%)	43.08 (68%)
Population in agricultural sector	32.88 (71%)	34.83 (64%)	34.39 (56%)	33.99 (54%)	33.83 (53%)