British Empire Economic Conference

The British Empire Economic Conference (also known as the Imperial Economic Conference or Ottawa Conference) was a 1932 conference of British colonies and dominions held to discuss the Great Depression. It was held between 21 July and 20 August in Ottawa.

1932 British Empire Economic Conference
Imperial Economic Conference
Host countryCanada Canada
Date21 July 1932
18 August 1932
Venue(s)House of Commons chamber, Parliament Hill
CitiesOttawa
Participants9
ChairR. B. Bennett
(Canadian Prime Minister)
Follows1930
Precedes1937
Key points
Imperial preference, tariffs, monetary standards
Postage stamp, Canada, 1932: commemorative overprint for Ottawa Conference.

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.

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:

Nation Name Portfolio
 Canada R. B. Bennett Prime Minister (Chairman)
 Australia Stanley Bruce Assistant Treasurer of Australia
 India Sir Atul Chandra Chatterjee Viceroy's representative
 Irish Free State Seán T. O'Kelly Vice-President
Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland Frederick C. Alderdice Prime Minister
 New Zealand Gordon Coates Minister of Public Works, Minister in charge of Unemployment
 Southern Rhodesia Howard Unwin Moffat Prime Minister
South Africa South Africa Nicolaas Havenga Finance Minister
 United Kingdom Stanley Baldwin Lord President of the Council

See also

Notes

  1. "Imperial Economic Conference". Encyclopædia Britannica.

Sources

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