1 January 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the multilateral trading system.

On 1 January 1948 the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (the GATT) entered into force – an agreement that led ultimately to the establishment of the World Trade Organization in 1995.

The Australian Government statements made at the time of the establishment of the GATT were:

• Ministerial statement to the House of Representatives on 11 November 1947 (pdf, 4.22 MB)
• Ministerial statement to the House of Representatives on 18 November 1947 (pdf, 756 KB)
• Statement of 24 December 1947 of Australia's chief negotiator, Dr H. C. Coombs (pdf, 1.12 MB)