British Empire Economic Conference
| 1932 British Empire Economic Conference Imperial Economic Conference | |
|---|---|
| Host country |  Canada |
| Date | 21 July 1932– 18 August 1932 |
| Venue(s) | House of Commons chamber, Parliament Hill |
| Cities | Ottawa |
| Participants | 9 |
| Chair | R. B. Bennett (Canadian Prime Minister) |
| Follows | 1930 |
| Precedes | 1937 |
| Key points | |
Imperial preference, tariffs, monetary standards | |
The British Empire Economic Conference (also known as the Imperial Economic Conference or Ottawa Conference) was a 1932 conference of British colonies and the autonomous dominions held to discuss the Great Depression. It was held between 21 July and 20 August in Ottawa.
The conference saw the group admit the failure of the gold standard and abandon attempts to return to it. The meeting also worked to establish a zone of limited tariffs within the British Empire, but with high tariffs with the rest of the world. This was called "Imperial preference" or "Empire Free-Trade" on the principle of “home producers first, empire producers second, and foreign producers last”. The result of the conference was a series of bilateral agreements that would last for at least 5 years.[1] This abandonment of open free trade led to a split in the British National Government coalition: the Official Liberals under Herbert Samuel left the Government, but the National Liberals under Sir John Simon remained.
The conference was especially notable for its adoption of Keynesian ideas such as lowering interest rates, increasing the money supply, and expanding government spending.
The United States were annoyed by the implementation of Imperial Preference as it affected them economically.[2]
It was the last Imperial Conference that any Irish government ever participated in, and also the last that Newfoundland attended as an independent Dominion.
British Empire Economic Conference delegates attended services at St. Matthew's Anglican Church (Ottawa) 26 July 1932.[3]
Heads of delegations
The conference was hosted by the Governor General of Canada, The Earl of Bessborough, representing King George V and included the Prime Ministers and other leaders of the Empire and members of their respective cabinets:
See also
Notes
- ^ "Imperial Economic Conference". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica.
- ^ A. Dobson, "Economic Diplomacy at the Atlantic Conference", Review of International Studies (1984) 10, pp.143.
- ^ British Imperial Conference delegates attended services at St. Matthew's Anglican Church, Ottawa
Sources
- British Empire Economic Conference, Time magazine, July 25, 1932
- Barry Eichengreena and Douglas A. Irwin, "Trade blocs, currency blocs and the reorientation of world trade in the 1930s", Journal of International Economics, Volume 38, Issues 1–2, February 1995, Pages 1–24
- Robert A. MacKay, "Imperial Economics at Ottawa", Pacific Affairs, Vol. 5, No. 10 (Oct. 1932), pp. 873–885
- Maxwell Slutz Stewart, The Ottawa conference, Foreign Policy Association, incorporated, 1932
- Use dmy dates from May 2013
- Governance of the British Empire
- History of the Commonwealth of Nations
- 20th-century diplomatic conferences
- 1932 in Canada
- 1932 in economics
- 1932 in international relations
- Diplomatic conferences in Canada
- Great Depression
- Gold standard
- History of Ottawa
- 1932 conferences
- 1932 in the British Empire
- 20th century in Ottawa
- July 1932 events
- August 1932 events
- 1932 in Ontario