A provision of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Treaty (GATT)

Facilitates the flow of trade by establishing agreements on potential trade barriers

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is an international trade agreement and the (informal) organization around it. Shortly after the Second World War, a treaty for promoting free trade between the participating countries was decided upon by lowering and simplifying import duties. Initially an International Trade Organization (ITO) was foreseen, but because the United States eventually gave up ratification, the ITO never came into effect. As an alternative, the GATT was signed on October 30, 1947, in which many rules returned but without a clear institutional character.