Gatt

gatt and negotiations rounds of gatt

1. GATT and negotiation rounds of GATT Presented by: Abhishek Bahuguna MBA – IB (4 th Sem)

2. Introduction - GATT The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), signed on Oct. 30, 1947, by 23 countries, was a legal agreement minimizing barriers to international trade by eliminating or reducing quotas, tariffs, and subsidies while preserving significant regulations. The GATT was intended to boost economic recovery after World War II through reconstructing and liberalizing global trade . According to its preamble, its purpose was the "substantial reduction of tariffs and other trade barriers and the elimination of preferences, on a reciprocal and mutually advantageous basis."

3. Introduction – GATT (Contd.) The GATT went into effect on Jan. 1, 1948. Since that beginning it has been refined, eventually leading to the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on January 1, 1995, which absorbed and extended it. By this time 125 nations were signatories to its agreements, which covered about 90% of global trade . The Council for Trade in Goods (Goods Council) is responsible for the GATT and consists of representatives from all WTO member countries. As of September 2019, the council chair is Uruguayan Ambassador José Luís Cancela Gómez. The council has 10 committees that address subjects including market access, agriculture, subsidies, and anti-dumping measures.

4. 8 multilateral trade conferences(rounds) of GATT Geneva round – 1947 Annecy round – 1949 Torquay round – 1951 Gevena II round – 1955-56 Dillon round – 1960-62 Kennedy round – 1964-67 Tokyo round – 1973-79 Uruguay round – 1986-94

5. Geneva round - 1947 GATT was first discussed at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment in Havana, Cuba (1947), where the idea of creating the International Trade Organization (ITO) was proposed ( see United Nations). It was hoped that ITO would complement the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in fostering international economic cooperation. While more than 50 nations were negotiating ITO and organizing its founding charter, preparatory sessions were held regarding GATT . The very first round was held in Geneva, Switzerland in 1947 where Canada and 22 other nations signed GATT on October 30 th .

6. Geneva round – 1947 (Contd.) The duration of this round was 7 months from April till October and 23 countries were part of this. Disciplines were included to restrict members from imposing new trade barriers, and a non-binding process was introduced to encourage the resolution of disputes. The outcome of this 1947 meeting was agreement on a lasting framework for post-war commercial relations whereby trade barriers were contained and then gradually reduced over time . The subjects covered under this round were tariffs and achievements were 45,000 tariff concessions affecting $10 billion of trade.

7. Annecy Round - 1949 This round was held in the French lakeside city of Annecy in the Alps south of Geneva in 1949. The duration of this round was 5 months from April 1949 – August 1949 and around 34 countries were part of this round of negotiations. The subjects covered in this round were tariffs and the achievement was that countries exchanged some 5,000 tariff concessions.

8. Torquay Round - 1951 The Torquay Round was a multi-year multilateral trade negotiation (MTN) between nation-states that were parties to the GATT . The duration of this round was 8 months starting from September 1950. This third round occurred in Torquay, England in 1951 . Thirty-eight countries took part in the round. 8,700 tariff concessions were made totalling the remaining amount of tariffs to ¾ of the tariffs which were in effect in 1948.

9. Geneva Round – 1955-56 The Geneva Round was the fourth session of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) multilateral trade negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland. It started in 1955 and lasted until May 1956 . The main subjects covered were Tariffs and admission of Japan. Twenty-six countries took part in the round and achievement was that $2.5 billion in tariffs were eliminated or reduced.

10. Dillon Round – 1960-62 The Dillon Round was a multi-year multilateral trade negotiation (MTN) between 26 nation-states that were parties to the GATT. The fifth round in the GATT The talks were named after U.S. Treasury Secretary and former Under Secretary of State, Douglas Dillon, who first proposed the talks. Along with reducing over $4.9 billion in tariffs with about 4,400 item-by-item cuts, it also yielded discussion relating to the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC). occurred in Geneva and lasted from May 1959 through July 1962.

11. Dillon Round – 1960-62 (Contd.) One of its achievements was the adoption of a common external tariff by the European Economic Community. Significant concessions on tariffs to agricultural exports were granted by the United States . The Dillon Round was also agreed by 11 other Developed Countries and six Less Developed Countries: Cambodia, Haiti, India, Israel, Pakistan and Peru . Concern was expressed in the US over the potential exclusion by the EEC of traditional trading partners. At the time, the six-nation EEC accounted for one-sixth of US foreign trade, including over one-fifth of US farm exports. The Trade Expansion Act was passed as a result of the Dillon Round, in order to "help preserve the economic basis for Atlantic co-operation.

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