History Of The General Agreement On Tariffs And Trade

Abstract

Few economic activities are more regulated than international trade transactions. This chapter deals with the efforts to bring some order into the chaos of international trade, namely, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The history of the preparation of the GATT is intertwined with the history of the draft Charter for the International Trade Organization (ITO). Four preparatory conferences were held in 1946 through 1948 to draft the GATT and the ITO Charter. At the end of the Havana Conference in March 1948, the Final Act was signed authenticating the Draft Charter for the ITO and, at the same time, a resolution was adopted establishing an Interim Commission for the International Trade Organization (ICITO). The first session of the contracting parties of GATT 1947 met and arranged that secretariat services for GATT 1947 be supplied by the ICITO. Keywords: General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT); ICITO; International Trade Organization (ITO)