History of G.A.T.T

The GATT was a just an international organization having a permanent council of representatives with headquarters at Geneva. Its function was to call international conference to decide on trade liberalization on a multilateral basis. The history of G.A.T.T is

The GATT was a multilateral treaty which has been signed by 96 governments known as contracting parties. 31 other countries had applied GATT rules. It was neither an permanent organization nor a court of justice, it was simply a multinational treaty which covered 80% of the World Trade it was a decision making body with a code of rules for the conduct of international Trade and mechanism for trade liberalization. it was a forum where the contracting parties met from time to time to discuss and solve the trade problems and also negotiated to enlarged the trade the GATT rules provided for the settlement of trade disputes called for consultation waived trade obligation and even authorized measures.

GATT was established in Geneva, Switzerland, by 23 countries as part of the post-World War II reconstruction effort. It was intended to be a provisional agreement until a more permanent international trade organization could be created. The Havana Charter, which aimed to establish the International Trade Organization (ITO), was signed but never confirmed due to opposition, particularly from the United States. As a result, GATT became the de facto framework for international trade regulation.

The first significant round of negotiations under GATT, resulting in substantial tariff reductions and the first efforts to address non-tariff barriers. This round expanded the scope of GATT by addressing issues like subsidies, technical barriers to trade, and the complexities of international trade in goods and services.

The 1980s saw growing challenges to the global trading system, including the rise of regional trade agreements and increasing complexity in international trade. The most ambitious and comprehensive round of negotiations in GATT’s history. It resulted in significant agreements on services, intellectual property, and agriculture, and ultimately led to the creation of the WTO.

GATT was replaced by the World Trade Organization (WTO), a more comprehensive and institutionalized body that covers not only trade in goods but also services, intellectual property, and dispute resolution mechanisms. The WTO absorbed GATT’s legal framework and expanded upon it.

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was a multilateral treaty created in 1947 with the primary goal of promoting international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs, quotas, and subsidies. It played a crucial role in shaping the post-World War II global economic order and laid the foundation for the modern World Trade Organization [WTO].

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