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Simple English definitions for legal terms
GATT
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A quick definition of GATT:
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is an agreement between many countries to reduce barriers to trade. It started in 1947 with 23 countries and grew to over 100 by 1973. GATT successfully lowered tariffs, quotas, and other barriers to trade among member countries. Before GATT, many countries had high tariffs, which made it hard to trade with other countries. GATT helped rebuild economies after World War II by making it easier to trade. GATT became its own organization for managing trade issues among members. The WTO replaced GATT and is now the forum for enforcing and changing provisions of the GATT. GATT requires member states to apply tariffs in a non-discriminate way and limits the ability of countries to place higher restrictions on goods from other member states than within their own country. Other major sources of friction for international trade such as quotas, dumping, and subsidies are very limited under GATT, reducing the ability of countries to be singled out by another country.
A more thorough explanation:
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is an agreement between many countries to reduce barriers to trade. It was created after World War II to help rebuild economies and counterbalance the harmful effects of high tariffs. GATT successfully reduced average tariffs among member countries from over 20% to around 5% or less.
For example, before GATT, many countries had tariffs of over 40% during the 1930s. But with GATT, member states agreed to apply tariffs in a non-discriminate way, meaning they should apply to all member states equally with limited exceptions. GATT also limited the ability of countries to place higher restrictions on goods from other member states than within their own country. This helped to reduce friction for international trade and allowed for more beneficial global trade among member states.
While GATT was meant as a multilateral treaty, it effectively became its own organization for managing trade issues among members due to the failed International Trade Organization (ITO). After many more rounds of negotiations, GATT evolved into the World Trade Organization (WTO), which became the new forum for enforcing and changing provisions of the GATT.
Overall, GATT was an important agreement that helped to reduce barriers to trade and promote economic growth among member states.