General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

Definition

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was a multilateral agreement aimed at regulating international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs and quotas. Established in 1948, it laid the groundwork for the World Trade Organization (WTO) that succeeded it in 1995.

Related terms

Tariffs: Taxes imposed by a government on imported goods, which GATT sought to reduce or eliminate.

World Trade Organization (WTO): An international organization designed to supervise and liberalize international trade, which was established as a successor to GATT in 1995.

Quotas: Limits set by governments on the quantity of a good that can be imported or exported during a given time period, which were also targeted for reduction under GATT agreements