Kennedy Round Negotiations (1964–67)

Abstract

The Kennedy Round was a series of tariff‐reduction talks held under the aegis of GATT from 1964 to 1967. The talks were notable for how the EEC represented the interests of its constituent member‐states, in what represented the organization's debut on the international stage, and for how they featured the novelty of linear rather than product‐by‐product tariff reductions. The results included industrial tariff reductions of around 35 percent, along with lower levels of agricultural reductions. The round was widely considered a success, because it helped to avoid a trade war between the EEC and the United States, which would also have damaged Western political unity as well as trade links. For good or ill, the round can be seen as a contribution to the process of globalization through economic integration.