Editing Trade (section)

===20th century===
The [[Great Depression]] was a major economic recession that ran from 1929 to the late 1930s. During this period, there was a great drop in trade and other economic indicators.

The lack of free trade was considered by many as a principal cause of the depression causing stagnation and inflation.<ref>(secondary) [[BBC|British Broadcasting Corporation]] – [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/coldwar/ history]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224134153/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/coldwar/|date=2019-12-24}}.</ref> Only during [[World War II]] did the recession end in the United States. Also during the war, in 1944, 44 countries signed the [[Bretton Woods Agreement]], intended to prevent national trade barriers, to avoid depressions. It set up rules and institutions to regulate the [[international political economy]]: the [[International Monetary Fund]] and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (later divided into the World Bank $ Bank for International Settlements). These organizations became operational in 1946 after enough countries ratified the agreement. In 1947, 23 countries agreed to the [[General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade]] to promote free trade.<ref>(secondary) M. Smith. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Lf2VQgAACAAJ&q=China+Hidden+Cloak+and+Dagger+History+of+MI5 V. Gollancz, 1996]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905185525/https://books.google.com/books?id=Lf2VQgAACAAJ&dq=China+Hidden+Cloak+and+Dagger+History+of+MI5&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Z6DsT-yYE8LO8QOSkqXCBQ&redir_esc=y|date=2015-09-05}}. {{ISBN|0-575-06150-2}}.</ref>

The [[European Union]] became the world's largest exporter of manufactured goods and services, the biggest export market for around 80 countries.<ref>{{cite web|title=EU position in world trade|url=http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/eu-position-in-world-trade/|publisher=European Commission|access-date=7 March 2016|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305234014/http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/eu-position-in-world-trade/|url-status=live}}</ref>