The contested origins of the GATT: Imperialism, anti-imperialism, and the making of multilateral free trade

Abstract Inaugurated in 1948 with initially 23 signatories, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) constituted a vital part of the post-war economic architecture. While traditionally the founding of the GATT has been strongly identified with the role of US hegemonic power and free trade enthusiasm, this article reframes the GATT’s origins by highlighting how (anti-)imperial dynamics shaped negotiations over its basic elements, including participation, membership, and permissible exceptions to most-favoured nation principles. Drawing on sources from the GATT archives and government documents from the United Kingdom and the United States, it highlights how empires sought to preserve key elements of imperial economic relations, including by incorporating imperial authority structures, preserving colonial preference systems, and creating other exceptions to trade liberalization. It also shows how developing countries leveraged the trade negotiations to loosen the grip of empires, expand participation, and promote regional and developmental cooperation. Consequently, the final GATT outcome represents a hybrid and transitionary organization, with the organization preserving key elements of imperial economic relations even as it incorporated some demands for the equality of states and economic justice.