At the 1932 British Empire Economic Conference , delegates from the United Kingdom , led by Stanley Baldwin ( then Lord President of the Council ) , hoped to establish a system of free trade within the British Commonwealth , to promote unity within the British Empire and to assure Britain 's position as a world power . The idea was controversial , as it pitted proponents of imperial trade with those who sought a general policy of trade liberalisation with all nations . The Dominions , particularly Canada , were also adamantly against dispensing with their import tariffs , which " dispelled any romantic notions of a ' United Empire ' . " The meeting , however , did produce a five year trade agreement based upon a policy , first conceived in the 1900s , of Imperial Preference : the countries retained their import tariffs , but lowered these for other Commonwealth countries
British Empire Economic Conference
British Empire Economic Conference
Commonwealth realm