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Developing Multilateralism: The Havana Charter and the Fight for the International Trade Organization, 1947-1948

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Developing Multilateralism: The Havana Charter and the Fight for the International Trade Organization, 1947-1948
Author(s)Toye, Richard
AbstractDetails the origins, complicated negotiations, and eventual failure of the UN Conference on Trade and Employment and the effort to establish an International Trade Organization (ITO) in 1947-48. Although the discussions, held in Havana, Cuba, successfully negotiated the Havana Charter, they failed to establish the ITO, settling instead on the less inclusive “interim” General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which survived until the World Trade Organization was established in 1995. This article considers whether the ITO would have resulted in a more inclusive, productive, systematic, and fair world economy than GATT and considers the reasons behind the ITO’s failure. In addition to Cold War concerns, the United States had difficulties pleasing all of the countries involved. Washington’s indifference regarding the ITO and its decision to extend multilateralism and make concessions to underdeveloped countries while remaining firm with European countries collectively explain why the charter was ultimately dropped.
IssueNo2
Pages282-305
ArticleAccess to Article
SourceInternational History Review
VolumeNo25
PubDateJune2003
ISBN_ISSN0707-5332
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