Harry S. Truman photo

Statement by the President on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

October 29, 1947

THE ANNOUNCEMENT today of the completion, among 23 nations at Geneva, of a General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade is a landmark in the history of international economic relations. Never before have so many nations combined in such a sustained effort to lower barriers to trade. Never before have nations agreed upon action, on tariffs and preferences, so extensive in its coverage and so far-reaching in its effects. In a world economic situation characterized until now by progressive deterioration, this agreement is heartening indeed. Viewed against the background of other plans for economic reconstruction, it confirms the general acceptance of an expanding multilateral trading system as the goal of national policies. By demonstrating the willingness of nations to attack their common difficulties in a spirit of cooperation, it gives ground for confidence that we shall succeed in solving the problems that are still ahead.

Note: The text of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade is printed in the U.S. Statutes at Large (61 Stat. A3).

On December 16, 1947, the president issued proclamation 2761A "Carrying Out General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Concluded at Geneva, October 30, 1947," making the agreement effective, provisionally, for the United States on January 1, 1948 (61 Stat. 1103; 3 CFR, 1943-1948 Comp., p. 139).

Harry S Truman, Statement by the President on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/232482

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