ETRTR Subject Files

67916

1950-1991

series

textual records

14 linear feet of textual records.

English

Protectionism, Trade policy

Office in Geneva, UN Conference on Trade and Development, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

Series is open according to the Archives Access Policy. Files will be screened by reference staff for any time restrictions.

Series contains records which document the major activities of the Trade and Payments Division of the Exchange and Trade Relations Department. They primarily document: the Division's role of coordinating the IMF's relations with GATT and UNCTAD; liaison with the Geneva Office; and, cooperation with other international organizations. The Division carried out this cooperative work with the GATT and UNCTAD through the Geneva Office which is accredited to these organizations. The Office reported to the Exchange and Trade Relations Department, the Executive Board and management on the proceedings of meetings held by these organizations. Records contain original and copies of correspondence and memoranda between the Trade and Payments Division Chief and the Director and/or Deputy of the Geneva Office; direct communication between the Director of the Immediate Office and the GATT Secretariat regarding scheduling of consultations with the Contracting Parties to the GATT; the transmittal of documents from the IMF to the GATT and vice-versa; and reports by the Geneva Office regarding informal meetings of the GATT Committee. In preparation for its work with the GATT and UNCTAD, the Division worked cooperatively with area departments in preparing supplementary background material papers for relevant consultation countries. Work in this regard usually involved participation in technical assistance missions, the end result of which was a report or study. For example, the Trade and Payments Division and Exchange Restrictions Division, at the request of the African Center for Monetary Studies (ACMS) and the African Central Bank, participated in one such mission to examine restrictive systems in the eighteen-state grouping of Eastern and Southern African States initiative during the 1980s. The findings of this mission were reported to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Other notable subject matter includes a discussion between the Division Chief of ETRTP, the Director of the Immediate Office and the Managing Director regarding the establishment of an African, Caribbean and Pacific Investment Bank. The IMF's involvement in the establishment if this organization can be traced through annotated memoranda and other correspondence., Files are primarily arranged alphabetically and then chronologically except in the case of the GATT Balance of Payments Files which are arranged chronologically for the period 1974-1980 and then alphabetically by country as it appears the Division changed its filing schema.