The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was a multilateral agreement regulating international trade. According to its preamble, its purpose was the "substantial reduction of tariffs and other trade barriers and the elimination of preferences, on a reciprocal and mutually advantageous basis." It was negotiated during the UN Conference on Trade and Employment and was the outcome of the failure of negotiating governments to create the International Trade Organization (ITO). GATT was signed in 1948 and lasted until 1993, when it was replaced by the World Trade Organization in 1995.
The original GATT text (GATT 1958) is still in effect under the WTO framework, subject to the modifications of GATT 1994.
Read more about General Agreement On Tariffs And Trade: Rounds, GATT and The World Trade Organization
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