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 The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. It was held between 21 July and 20 August in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

. The conference saw the group admit the failure of the

gold standard A gold standard is a backed currency, monetary system in which the standard economics, economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the ...

and abandon attempts to return to it. The meeting also worked to establish a zone of limited tariffs within the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

, but with high tariffs with the rest of the world. This was called "

Imperial preference Imperial Preference was a system of mutual tariff reduction enacted throughout the British Empire and British Commonwealth following the Ottawa Conference of 1932. As Commonwealth Preference, the proposal was later revived in regard to the member ...

" 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. 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 John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount Simon, (28 February 1873 – 11 January 1954) was a British politician who held senior Cabinet posts from the beginning of the First World War to the end of the Second World War. He is one of three people to ...

remained. The conference was especially notable for its adoption of

Keynesian Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomic theories and models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongly influences economic output an ...

ideas such as lowering

interest rate An interest rate is the amount of interest due per period, as a proportion of the amount lent, deposited, or borrowed (called the principal sum). The total interest on an amount lent or borrowed depends on the principal sum, the interest rate, ...

s, increasing the money supply, and expanding government spending. According to a 2024 study, the impact of the agreement on Canada was limited, as Canada already had a highly protectionist trade policy.

Heads of delegations

The conference was hosted by the

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the Advice (constitutional la ...

, The Earl of Bessborough, representing King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

and included the Prime Ministers and other leaders of the Empire and members of their respective cabinets:

Notes

Sources

British Empire Economic Conference
''

Time magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

'', 25 July 1932 * Barry Eichengreen and Douglas A. Irwin, "Trade blocs, currency blocs and the reorientation of world trade in the 1930s", ''

Journal of International Economics The ''Journal of International Economics'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of economics. The journal publishes articles on both theoretical and empirical aspects of international economics. Various topics covered include trade pa ...

'', Volume 38, Issues 1–2, February 1995, Pages 1–24 * Robert A. MacKay, "Imperial Economics at Ottawa", ''

Pacific Affairs ''Pacific Affairs'' (''PA'') is a Canadian peer-reviewed scholarly journal that publishes academic research on contemporary political, economic, and social issues in Asia and the Pacific. The journal was founded in 1926 as the newsletter for th ...

'', Vol. 5, No. 10 (Oct. 1932), pp. 873–885 * Maxwell Slutz Stewart, ''The Ottawa conference'',

Foreign Policy Association The Foreign Policy Association (FPA, formerly known as the League of Free Nations Association) is an American non-profit foreign policy organization. According to the FPA, the organization aims to spread global awareness and understanding of US f ...

, incorporated, 1932 * * Potter, Pitman B. (1932). " The British Imperial Economic Conference". ''American Journal of International Law''. 26 (4): 811–813. {{Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings Imperial Conference History of the Commonwealth of Nations 20th-century diplomatic conferences 1932 in Canada 1932 in economic history 1932 in international relations Diplomatic conferences in Canada Great Depression Gold standard Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations 1932 conferences Economic Conference 1930s in Ottawa July 1932 in Canada August 1932 in Canada 1932 in Ontario Stanley Baldwin R.B. Bennett

Heads of delegations

See also

Notes

Sources