International Trade Organization

E82263

The International Trade Organization was a proposed post-World War II specialized agency intended to regulate international trade and complement the IMF and World Bank, but it never came into existence after its charter failed to be ratified.


Statements (41)
Predicate Object
instanceOf proposed international organization
proposed specialized agency of the United Nations
alsoKnownAs ITO
cameIntoExistence no
charterSignedAt Havana
charterSignedInYear 1948
charterStatus not ratified
designedAs comprehensive trade organization
documentName Charter for an International Trade Organization
economicPhilosophy multilateral trade liberalization
failureConsequence left GATT as de facto trade organization
field international economic law
international trade policy
governancePlannedAs intergovernmental organization
historicalContext postwar economic order planning
intendedHeadquarters Geneva
intendedRole regulate international trade
intendedToComplement International Monetary Fund
World Bank
legacy influenced creation of World Trade Organization
many trade rules later incorporated into GATT
legalBasis Havana Charter
negotiatedUnderAuspicesOf United Nations
negotiationPeriod 1946–1948
partOf Bretton Woods system design
predecessorConcept postwar trade organization proposed at Bretton Woods Conference
primaryOpposingCountry United States
proposedAfter World War II
proposedMembershipType sovereign states
reasonDidNotComeIntoExistence failure of member states to ratify Havana Charter
relatedInstitution General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
relationshipPlannedWith United Nations Economic and Social Council
status defunct proposal
subjectMatter employment and economic development
foreign investment
international commodity agreements
restrictive business practices
services and related issues
tariffs
trade restrictions
USRatificationOutcome rejected by US Congress


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