Trade relations with the United States

Trade relations with the United States


Economic and trade relations between the European Economic Community (EEC) and the United States of America suffered as a result of the repercussions of American monetary policy and the resulting disturbance of the international monetary system.


On 15 August 1971, President Nixon decided to suspend the dollar’s convertibility into gold and impose a 10 % surtax on imports in order to curb galloping inflation. This double coup de force against the gold standard and free trade plunged European currencies into severe crisis. The pound sterling and the Italian lira were the most affected. The crisis continued unchecked, despite the establishment of the European currency snake in March 1972.


The Tokyo Round negotiations, from 1973 to 1979, introduced into the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) an agreement on the transparency of public contracts and the establishment of codes of conduct relating to subsidies and countervailing duties and anti-dumping procedures.

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