The outbreak of World War II saw a remnant League of Nations’ Secretariat relocating to Princeton. This ‘Princeton Mission’, supported by private American foundations and the US government, spreads the double taxation movement in the Americas, making inroads into Latin America that culminate in the negotiation of the 1943 Mexico Model.Faltering inter-American relations and the birth of the new United Nations lead the Mission to hastily organise the Fiscal Committee’s Tenth Session with little developing country representation in the attempt to legitimise its wartime work before the dissolution of the League. The result was the 1946 London Model.

What should be done with Germany after the war? The problem of how to handle a defeated Germany spawned intense and bitter debate within the highest levels of American government. The divisions only intensified as victory came into view. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau’s plan was to remove all heavy manufacturing capabilities from the defeated nation. The Germans had launched two world wars, and it was time to ensure that they could never trouble their neighbors again. But given the widespread food shortages expected to come after the war, stripping the country of its factories and machinery would almost certainly lead to mass starvation, and everyone knew it. Morgenthau’s plan could only seem cruel. It was a modern-day version of a Carthaginian peace, and at the Treasury Secretary’s urging, President Roosevelt signed on. The problem was that most other members of the administration opposed Morgenthau’s plan, and they launched a rear-guard action to defeat it.

This chapter explains the historical development of an internationalist conception of trade from Adam Smith to the 1930s. It then examines the establishment of GATT, initial reactions to the organization, and the early work of the secretariat. Efforts to establish what became GATT began during the war and involved British and American governments. The participation of other countries, including Australia, Canada, and India, also influenced the rules and purpose of GATT. The reaction to GATT showed that trade elicited divisive and polarized opinions, a trend that continued throughout its history. In its first few years, GATT had limited capabilities, but an effective secretariat led by Eric Wyndham White. This account revises the widely held view that British and American governments clashed over the postwar trade system. It challenges the belief that the USA created GATT. It shows that the GATT secretariat was proactive, committed to an internationalist trade agenda, and determined to maintain its independence.