British Empire Economic Conference

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 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.

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.

  1. ^ "Imperial Economic Conference". Encyclopædia Britannica.