Summary
Haberler Report: in late 1957 GATT members decided to commission an examination of past and current international trade trends and their implications. It was to enquire particularly (a) into the failure of the trade of less developed countries to develop as rapidly as that of industrialized countries, (b) excessive short-term fluctuations in the prices of primary products and (c) widespread resort to agricultural protection. This was the first such examination in the GATT looking particularly at issues facing developing countries. A panel of distinguished economists was assembled, led by Gottfried Haberler of Harvard University. The panel report, titled Trends in International Trade, was issued in October 1958. It became known immediately as the Haberler Report. The report contained 60 conclusions. The first fifteen are factual accounts of short-term fluctuations and long-term trends in commodities and manufactures trade prevailing at the time. The next eight conclusions deal with the interpretation of past trends, future import requirements and prospects for exports. The report was unable to conclude whether there had been an increase in agricultural protection in industrial countries in recent years, but it also cautioned against counting on any improvement in the terms of trade of the non-industrialized countries to raise their ability to purchase imports. The next 33 conclusions were the most important ones. The called for the stabilization of particular commodity markets, but not in a too ambitious way.
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- Dictionary of Trade Policy Terms , pp. 210 - 218Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007
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