How the EU' s CAP widens the disparity between the North and the South with a special reference to Thailand

Abstract

The European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy is seen as an obstacle for world agricultural trade liberalisation. Furthermore, the claim of the EU to be a benevolent superpowerin helping the countries in the Global South fight against poverty is flawed when the EU’s highly protected agricultural sector still exists. It hinders developing countries from gaining their income from agricultural trade - their major or only source of income - which damages their economies. This therefore widens the disparity between the EU and the developing countries. The eminence of the CAP still reflects image of ‘Fortress Europe’ in the eyes of the Global South. This research aims at simplifying the complexities of CAP a well as illustrating its effects on a regional and global scale, especially on the Global South with a special reference to Thailand’ agricultural trade, and to criticise the EU’s claims of being a benevolent world superpower in building better prosperous world despite its inequality-enhancing policy, namely th CA is still eminent, along with the analysis of how this leads to a tension between develope and developing countries. In addition, there is an intention to provide some strategie to sugges to the Thai Government in reacting to the EU’s CAP protectionist measures.