<P> The 1932 Democratic campaign platform pledged to lower tariffs . After winning the election , President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the now - Democratic Congress passed Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934 . This act allowed the President to negotiate tariff reductions on a bilateral basis , and also treated such a tariff agreement as regular legislation , requiring a majority , rather than as a treaty requiring a two - thirds vote . This was one of the core components of the trade negotiating framework that developed after World War II . The tit - for - tat responses of other countries were understood to have contributed to a sharp reduction of trade in the 1930s . After World War II this understanding supported a push towards multi-lateral trading agreements that would prevent similar situations in the future . While the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944 focused on foreign exchange and did not directly address tariffs , those involved wanted a similar framework for international trade . President Harry S. Truman launched this process in December 1945 with negotiations for the creation of a proposed International Trade Organization ( ITO ) . As it happened , separate negotiations on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ( GATT ) moved more quickly , with an agreement signed in October 1947 ; in the end , the US never signed the ITO agreement . Adding a multilateral `` most - favored - nation '' component to that of reciprocity , the GATT served as a framework for the gradual reduction of tariffs over the subsequent half century . </P>
<P> The 1932 Democratic campaign platform pledged to lower tariffs . After winning the election , President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the now - Democratic Congress passed Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934 . This act allowed the President to negotiate tariff reductions on a bilateral basis , and also treated such a tariff agreement as regular legislation , requiring a majority , rather than as a treaty requiring a two - thirds vote . This was one of the core components of the trade negotiating framework that developed after World War II . The tit - for - tat responses of other countries were understood to have contributed to a sharp reduction of trade in the 1930s . After World War II this understanding supported a push towards multi-lateral trading agreements that would prevent similar situations in the future . While the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944 focused on foreign exchange and did not directly address tariffs , those involved wanted a similar framework for international trade . President Harry S. Truman launched this process in December 1945 with negotiations for the creation of a proposed International Trade Organization ( ITO ) . As it happened , separate negotiations on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ( GATT ) moved more quickly , with an agreement signed in October 1947 ; in the end , the US never signed the ITO agreement . Adding a multilateral `` most - favored - nation '' component to that of reciprocity , the GATT served as a framework for the gradual reduction of tariffs over the subsequent half century . </P>
the general agreement on tariffs and trade ( gatt ) was part of american attempts to increase
the general agreement on tariffs and trade ( gatt ) was part of american attempts to increase
trade
trade