General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

The ninth session of the contracting parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ended on March 7, 1955. The principal obstacles to agreement before late January were felt to have been the reluctance of the United States to modify its policies on import quotas on agricultural products, the reluctance of countries adversely affected by this practice to give up their right to restrict imports of manufactures so long as the quotas continued, lack of agreement on extension of the previously negotiated tariff schedules beyond June 30, 1955, the question of agricultural subsidies as a whole, the exceptions to GATT to be permitted to a country in balance of payments difficulties, and the quantitative restrictions to be permitted under-developed countries.