Multilateral rules for international trade were created with the objectives of securing market access for the post-war recovering economies and supporting their continued growth. Following the introduction of these rules in 1947 as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), it became clear that those countries with easier access to other countries’ markets were able to grow faster. This was probably the main reason why more and more of independent States accepted the trade disciplines, despite the fact that the rules limited their freedom to make unilateral decisions about trade (thus leaving them with narrower policymaking space)...

(MARKHUB publication)