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The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (typically abbreviated GATT) was the outcome of the failure of negotiating governments to create the International Trade Organization (ITO). The Bretton Woods Conference of 1944 recognized the need for a comparable international institution for trade (the later proposed International Trade Organization The Bretton Woods Conference had introduced the idea for an organization to regulate trade as part of a larger plan for economic recovery after World War II. The United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, commonly known as Bretton Woods conference, was a gathering of 730 Delegates from all 44 Allied World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including As governments negotiated the ITO, 15 negotiating states began parallel negotiations for the GATT as a way to attain early tariff reductions. Once the ITO failed in 1950, only the GATT agreement was left. The GATT's main objective was the reduction of barriers to international trade. Trade is the willing exchange of goods, services, or both Trade is also called Commerce. This was achieved through the reduction of tariff barriers, quantitative restrictions and subsidies on trade through a series of agreements. For other uses of this word see Tariff (disambiguation. A tariff is a tax imposed on goods when they are moved across a political boundary An import quota is a type of protectionist Trade restriction that sets a physical limit on the quantity of a good that can be imported into a country in a given period In Economics, a subsidy (also known as a subvention is a form of financial assistance paid to a business or economic sector The GATT was a treaty, not an organization. The functions of the GATT were taken over by the World Trade Organization which was established during the final round of negotiations in early 1990s.

The history of the GATT can be divided into three phases: the first, from 1947 until the Torquay Round, largely concerned which commodities would be covered by the agreement and freezing existing tariff levels. A second phase, encompassing three rounds, from 1959 to 1979, focused on reducing tariffs. The third phase, consisting only of the Uruguay Round from 1986 to 1994, extended the agreement fully to new areas such as intellectual property, services, capital, and agriculture. See also World Trade Organization See also General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade The Uruguay Round commenced in September 1986 and continued until Intellectual property ( IP) is a legal field that refers to creations of the mind such as musical literary and artistic works inventions and symbols names A service is the non-material equivalent of a good. A service provision is an economic activity that does not result in Ownership, and this is what differentiates Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture Out of this round the WTO was born.

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GATT 1947

The precursor organization to the GATT, called the International Trade Organization (ITO) was first proposed in 1947 during the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment. Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security The negotiating countries of the ITO began parallel negotiations for the GATT as a way to introduce early tariff cuts. Once the ITO failed to be implemented by the United States, the GATT was the only organization left. On January 1, 1948 the agreement was signed by 23 countries: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Burma, Canada, Ceylon, Chile, China, Cuba, the Czechoslovak Republic, France, India, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Southern Rhodesia, Syria, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar ( pjìdàunzṵ mjàmmà nàinŋàndɔ̀ is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la The Czechoslovak Republic ( Československá republika) refers to the first Czechoslovak state that existed from 1918 to 1939 This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British Colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa, and known today as Zimbabwe Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The United States of America —commonly referred to as the 45,000 tariff concessions were made affecting over $10 billion in trade which comprised 20% of the total global market at the time.

GATT 1947 in the US

The GATT, as an international agreement, is a treaty. A Treaty is an agreement under International law entered into by actors in international law namely States and International organizations. Under United States law it is classified as a congressional-executive agreement. The law of the United States was originally largely derived from the Common law system of English law, which was in force at the time of the Revolutionary The foreign policy of the United States is highly influential on the world stage as it is a Superpower. Based on the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act it allowed the executive branch negotiating power over trade agreements with temporary authority from Congress. The Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act (enacted June 12, 1934, ch At the time it functioned as a provisional, but promising trade system. The agreement is based on the "unconditional most favored nation principle" This means that the conditions applied to the most favored trading nation (i. Most favoured nation (MFN also called Normal Trade Relations in the United States, is a status awarded by one Nation to another in International e. the one with the least restrictions) apply to all trading nations. In the US, there was large opposition against the International Trade Organization (which had been ratified in several countries), and thus President Truman never even submitted it to the Congress.

GATT 1949

The second round took place in 1949 in Annecy, France. Annecy ( Èneci / Ènneci in Arpitan language is a city in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern The main focus of the talks was more tariff reductions, around 5000 total.

GATT 1951

The third round occurred in Torquay, England in 1951. Torquay (tɔrˈkiː is a town in the Unitary authority of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland 8,700 tariff concessions were made totaling the remaining amount of tariffs to three-fourths of the tariffs which were in effect in 1948.

GATT 1955-1956

The fourth round returned to Geneva in 1955 and lasted until May 1956. Geneva (Genève is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French -speaking $2. 5 billion in tariffs were eliminated or reduced.

GATT "Dillon" 1960-1962

The fifth round occurred once more in Geneva and lasted from 1960 to 1962. Geneva (Genève is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French -speaking The talks were named after U. S. Treasury Secretary and former Under Secretary of State, Douglas Dillon, who first proposed the talks. Clarence Douglas Dillon ( August 21, 1909 &ndash January 10, 2003) son of Clarence and Ann (Douglass Dillon was U Along with reducing over $4. 9 billion in tariffs, it also yielded discussion relating to the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC). The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992 The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992

GATT "Kennedy" 1964-1967

The sixth round was the last to take place in Geneva from 1964 until 1967 and was named after the late US President Kennedy in his memory. Geneva (Genève is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French -speaking The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of Concessions were made on $40 billion worth of tariffs. Some of the GATT negotiation rules were also more clearly defined.

GATT "Tokyo Round" 1973-1979

Reduced tariffs and established new regulations aimed at controlling the proliferation of non-tariff barriers and voluntary export restrictions. Concessions were made on $190 billion worth.

Uruguay Round 1986-1993

The Uruguay Round began in 1986. See also World Trade Organization See also General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade The Uruguay Round commenced in September 1986 and continued until It was the most ambitious round to date, hoping to expand the competence of the GATT to important new areas such as services, capital, intellectual property, textiles, and agriculture.

Agriculture was essentially exempted from previous agreements as it was given special status in the areas of import quotas and export subsidies, with only mild caveats. However, by the time of the Uruguay round, many countries considered the exception of agriculture to be sufficiently glaring that they refused to sign a new deal without some movement on agricultural products. These fourteen countries came to be known as the "Cairns Group", and included mostly small and medium sized agricultural exporters such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, and New Zealand. The Cairns Group is an interest group of 19 agricultural exporting countries composed of Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island

The Agreement on Agriculture of the Uruguay Round continues to be the most substantial trade liberalization agreement in agricultural products in the history of trade negotiations. The goals of the agreement were to improve market access for agricultural products, reduce domestic support of agriculture in the form of price-distorting subsidies and quotas, eliminate over time export subsidies on agricultural products and to harmonize to the extent possible sanitary and phystosanitary measures between member countries.

GATT and the World Trade Organization

In 1993 the GATT was updated (GATT 1994) to include new obligations upon its signatories. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) One of the most significant changes was the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The 75 existing GATT members and the European Communities became the founding members of the WTO on January 1, 1995. The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992 New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 The other 52 GATT members rejoined the WTO in the following two years (the last being Congo in 1997). The Republic of the Congo (République du Congo Kongo: Repubilika ya Kongo; Lingala: Republiki ya Kongó) also known as Congo-Brazzaville Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar Since the founding of the WTO, 21 new non-GATT members have joined and 29 are currently negotiating membership. As of October 2007, there were a total of 151 member countries in the WTO.

Of the original GATT members, only the SFR Yugoslavia has not rejoined the WTO. The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian: Since FR Yugoslavia, (renamed to Serbia and Montenegro and with membership negotiations later split in two), is not recognised as a direct SFRY successor state; therefore, its application is considered a new (non-GATT) one. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Савезна Република Југославија / Savezna Republika Jugoslavija) or FRY was a federal state The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro (Државна заједница Србија и Црна Гора / Državna zajednica Srbija i Crna Gora, abbreviated The contracting parties who founded the WTO ended official agreement of the "GATT 1947" terms on December 31, 1995. Events 406 – Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gallia. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995

Whereas GATT was a set of rules agreed upon by nations, the WTO is an institutional body. The WTO expanded its scope from traded goods to trade within the service sector and intellectual property rights. Intellectual property ( IP) is a legal field that refers to creations of the mind such as musical literary and artistic works inventions and symbols names Although it was designed to serve multilateral agreements, during several rounds of GATT negotiations (particularly the Tokyo Round) plurilateral agreements created selective trading and caused fragmentation among members. officially, is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. WTO arrangements are generally a multilateral agreement settlement mechanism of GATT. [1] The debatable issue is recognition of human rights under GATT.

Rounds of GATT trade negotiations

GATT signatories occasionally negotiated new trade agreements that all countries would enter into. Each set of agreements was called a round. In general, each agreement bound members to reduce certain tariffs. For other uses of this word see Tariff (disambiguation. A tariff is a tax imposed on goods when they are moved across a political boundary Usually this would include many special-case treatments of individual products, with exceptions or modifications for each country.

  1. Geneva Round (1947): 23 countries. Geneva (Genève is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French -speaking Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. GATT enters into force.
  2. Annecy Round (1949): 13 countries. Annecy ( Èneci / Ènneci in Arpitan language is a city in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
  3. Torquay Round (1950): 38 countries. Torquay (tɔrˈkiː is a town in the Unitary authority of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
  4. Geneva Fourth Round (1956): 26 countries. Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Tariff reductions. Strategy set for future GATT policy toward developing countries, improving their positions as treaty participants.
  5. Dillon Round (1960-1961): 26 countries. Tariff reductions. Named after C. Douglas Dillon, then U. Clarence Douglas Dillon ( August 21, 1909 &ndash January 10, 2003) son of Clarence and Ann (Douglass Dillon was U S. Undersecretary of State.
  6. Kennedy Round (1962-1967): 62 countries. John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of Tariff reductions. This was an across-the-board reduction rather than a product-by-product specification, for the first time. Anti-dumping agreement (which, in the United States, was rejected by Congress). In economics " dumping " can refer to any kind of Predatory pricing. The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses
  7. Tokyo Round (1973-1979): 102 countries. officially, is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. Reduced non-tariff trade barriers. Also reduced tariffs on manufactured goods. Improvement and extension of GATT system.
  8. Uruguay Round (1986-94): 123 countries. See also World Trade Organization See also General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade The Uruguay Round commenced in September 1986 and continued until Created the World Trade Organization to replace the GATT treaty. Reduced tariffs and export subsidies, reduced other import limits and quotas over the next 20 years, agreement to enforce patents, trademarks, and copyrights (TRIPS), extending international trade law to the service sector (GATS) and open up foreign investment. Export subsidy is a government policy to encourage export of goods and discourage sale of goods on the domestic market through low-cost loans or tax relief for exporters or government A quota share is a specified number or percentage of the allotment as a whole ( Quota) that is prescribed to each individual entity (see Non-tariff barriers to trade A patent is a set of Exclusive rights granted by a State to an inventor or his assignee for a fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an A trademark or trade mark, represented by the symbols ™ and ®, or mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual Copyright is a legal concept enacted by Governments, giving the creator of an original work of authorship Exclusive rights to control its distribution usually for TRIPS redirects here For the new microprocessor design see TRIPS architecture. The General Agreement on Trade in Services ( GATS) is a Treaty of the World Trade Organization (WTO that entered into force in January 1995 as It also made major changes in the dispute settlement mechanism of GATT.
  9. Doha Round: see WTO. The Doha Development Round is the current trade-negotiation round of the World Trade Organization (WTO which commenced in November 2001

Source: Jackson, John H. The World Trading System Second Edition, page 74

See also

References

  1. ^ What is the WTO? (Official WTO site)

External links

This is a list of International trade topics. Absolute advantage Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights The Yes Men are a group of Culture jamming activists who practice what they call "identity correction" by pretending to be powerful people and spokespersons for prominent The Bretton Woods Conference of 1944 recognized the need for a comparable international institution for trade (the later proposed International Trade Organization
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