Haberler framed GATT as a watchdog protecting non-European outsiders

Evidence

Euroskeptic neoliberals not only pined for the return of a “liberalism from below,” lost since 1914, but also backed the search for a neoliberal fix to secure the open world economy. In a report about the Eu­ro­ pean Common Market submitted to the U.S. Congress months before the Treaty of Rome came into force, Haberler emphasized the need to strengthen GATT as a “watchdog” against Eu­rope. “It is before GATT,” he wrote, “that US and the interests of other outsiders (e.g. ­those of the other American states and Japan) can be best defended.” In a key move, Haberler spoke on behalf of not only the United States but also “outsiders.” In a piece written in a festschrift for Erhard the same year, Haberler spoke similarly about the outsiders, including “Latin American countries, which are much poorer than Eu­rope,” that ­will be injured by Eu­ro­pean trade discrimination “and had no reason to accept this injury calmly.” Eu­rope itself may profit, Haberler argued, “but the world economy as a ­whole loses.” “The question about an alternative to discriminatory integration policy is easy to answer. The alternative is: overall trade liberalization [as advocated by GATT].” — Quinn Slobodian, Globalists, 667

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader GATT/embedded-liberalism literature and to discussions of who GATT’s rules actually shielded (developed powers vs. outsiders). — connects to: The 1958 Haberler Report moved GATT toward expanding developing-country trade — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 1758; Haberler’s 1959 critique of Prebisch-Singer did not contradict the GATT report bearing his name — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 1760

Broader Connections

• The 1958 Haberler Report moved GATT toward expanding developing-country trade #expands (0.82) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1758
• Haberler’s 1959 critique of Prebisch-Singer did not contradict the GATT report bearing his name #qualifies (0.75) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1760