ABSTRACT
New proposals for dealing with trade restrictions have accordingly been mooted. The most promising involves using Article 24 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to negotiate a free trade area arrangement to include as many as possible of the agreement’s signatory countries, usually referred to as “contracting parties”. The GATT was set up to tackle excessive protection in international trade and payments, resulting from pre-war “beggar-thy-neighbour” policies and war-induced shortages and disruption. The many changes since then suggest a need for reappraisal. Article 24 could provide a more forceful approach to free trade. It sets out the conditions on which it is possible to deviate from the normal rules of non-discrimination and reflects the belief that any movement towards preferential arrangements should be consistent with the goal of free trade. Britain could play a key role in establishing a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) scheme embracing a new universal approach to free trade.
