Kennedy Round

The Kennedy round was the sixth session of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) trade negotiations held in 1964-1967 in Geneva, Switzerland. Congressional passage of the US Trade Expansion Act in 1962 authorized the White House to conduct mutual tariff negotiations ultimately leading to the Kennedy Round. The Kennedy Round had four major goals: to slash tariffs by half with a minimum of exceptions, to break down farm trade restrictions, to strip away nontariff regulations, and to aid developing nations. Participation greatly increased over previous rounds. Sixty six nations, representing 80% of world trade attended the official opening on May 4, 1964 at the Palais des Nations.

The director general announced the round's success on May 15, 1967 despite bitter disagreement upon many of the details. The final agreement was signed on June 30, 1967 - the very last day permitted under the Trade Expansion Act. The round was named after American President John F. Kennedy who died the year before.

External links

* [http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/min98_e/slide_e/slide009.htm WTO.org slide show]
* [http://www.bopcris.ac.uk/bopall/ref12444.html BOPCRIS]
* [http://www.asycuda.org/cuglossa.asp?term=Round Glossary of customs terms]
* [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~alandear/glossary/k.html Deardorff's Glossary of International Economics]