General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT):

A proposal for establishing an agency called the International Trade Organization (ITO) was made, at the International Conference of Trade and Employment, held at Havana in 1946, with the general objective of augmenting and maintaining world trade and employment. The ITO did not materialize due to lack of common agreement.

 However, one of the imp. issues of the Havana charter, regarding relaxation of trade restrictions, was taken up by incorporating it into the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs. The GATT was signed in 1947 by 23 nations, including India. The GATT was concerned only with tariffs and trade restrictions, and related international matters. A commercial treaty

Objectives:
Expansion of world trade Increase of world productivity by ensuring full employment in the participating nations Development and full utilization of world resources Raising the std. of living of the world community as a whole

Principles:
Trade should be conducted in a nondiscriminatory way (Most Favoured Nation Clause, MFN) The use of quantitative restrictions should be condemned and avoided Disagreements should be resolved through consultations

Uruguay Round:
The Uruguay Round (the 8th round of Multilateral Trade Negotiation, MTN, was launched in Latin America in Sept. 1993 and concluded after 8 years in Geneva on 15th Dec. 1993 This round grossly differs from its earlier rounds, involving many different rules of int. trade and negotiations which are restructured and redefined besides the addition of new issues of strategic importance.

It was the most complicated MTN, and there was a disagreement, which led to the delay in the completion of this round.

Dunkel Draft:
To expedite the negotiations, Sir Arthur Dunkel, the then Director General of GATT, tabled a scheme of proposals known as the Dunkel Draft, which covered the following areas of negotiations: 1. Market Access 2. Agriculture 3. Textiles and Clothing 4. Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) 5. Trade in Services 6. Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIMS)

 The Agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIMS) opened the gates for services in the financial sector, but member countries were permitted to adopt their own foreign investment policy.
TRIPS is comprehensive to cover all areas of technology: patents, property, trademarks, copyrights. TRIPS encroaches upon the member countrys sovereign right to form its own legislation on intellectual property matters. The Multi-Fibre Agreement (MFA) regulated trade in textiles and clothing. Under this agreement, importing countries could impose quota restrictions on exports from the developing countries on a selective basis.

Achievements of GATT
Given its provisional nature and limited field of action, the success of GATT in promoting and securing the liberalization of world trade during its 47 yrs life cannot be disputed. The continual reduction in tariffs alone spurred very high growth rates in world trade of around 8% a yr on an average during the 50s and 60s. Throughout the GATT era, the momentum of trade liberalization ensured that trade growth increased, thus promoting globalization.