ABSTRACT
Quantitative restrictions on trade become prevalent during the First World War, and although they were reduced at the Armistice they never entirely disappeared. The late 1920s and 1930s saw their re-emergence - especially in the planned economy of Germany - as a supplement to tariff protection. The Second World War exacerbated the position, as did the post-war dollar shortage and huge structural readjustment required in Europe. Between about 1960 and 1975 the European countries sought to reduce their barriers in most areas of trade - agricultural support policies and textile industries being the main exceptions. Since then, however, there seems to have been some drift back towards increased protection.
