Reservations on acceptance
During the negotiation of the General Agreement in the Tariff Agreement Committee at Geneva in 1947,
the initial proposal, to have a protocol of signature of the General Agreement, was deleted in favour of adoption
of the Protocol of Provisional Application combined with changes in the text of the General Agreement. It was
stated in this connection that:
“… there being no provision for signature of the Agreement, there is, of course, no occasion for any
country to reserve its position upon signature. However, it would still be open for any country to reserve
its position upon acceptance of the Agreement. … In that event, of course, the acceptance, to be valid
under international law … must be then agreed to by the other countries which have then accepted the
Agreement…