Gatt: 60th anniversary of GATT 1

60th anniversary of GATT 1 January 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the multilateral trading system. On 1 January 1948 the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (the GATT ) entered into force – an agreement that led ultimately to the establishment of the World Trade Organization in 1995. FTAs as drivers for liberalisation While multilateral agreements under the GATT and WTO have been the leading arrangements bringing greater trade liberalisation in the world economy, narrower agreements like the European Union and the Canada-US bilateral FTA have also been significant. For Australia, the Closer Economic Relations agreements with New Zealand have made important contributions in allowing Australia and New Zealand to become, in substance, a single economy. Trade remedies are trade policy tools that allow governments to take remedial action against imports which are causing material injury to a domestic industry. In accordance with Article X of GATT 1994, each Party shall administer in a uniform, impartial and reasonable manner all its laws, regulations, judicial decisions and administrative rulings pertaining to the classification or the valuation of products for customs purposes, or to rates of duty, taxes or other charges, or to requirements ...