U.S. approaches to economic development of Western Europe in the 1940s–1950s

During World War II, the United States gained superpower status, which implied the active participation of American diplomacy in the establishment of the post-war world order. In this context, one of the cornerstones of U.S. foreign policy was the strengthening of relations with the countries of Western Europe, which found themselves on the front lines of the nascent Soviet-American confrontation. This article attempts to place the evolution of American approaches to the economic development of Western Europe in the 1940s–1950s into a broader context of the U.S. plans to build a global liberal economic order. The study of the American post-war policy toward Europe is particularly relevant, as it can help to better comprehend the current logic of trade and economic relations between the United States and the European Union. The first section of the article outlines the main milestones in the history of post-war international trade and financial institutions: the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The author notes that during this period, the United States, taking advantage of the weakness and dependence of European countries, was able to effectively impose its vision of a global economic order on them. At the same time, the U.S. leadership soon realized that the active engagement of Western European countries in building a new economic order requires the establishment of regional organizations to promote free trade between them. To a great extent, the Marshall Plan was aimed at solving these problems, as discussed in detail in the second section of the article. The author emphasizes that the United States deliberately used economic assistance to stimulate consolidating trends in Western Europe as part of this plan. The third section of the paper thoroughly analyzes the motives behind the U.S. support for European integration. As the author shows, the United States was interested in creating a large regional market for American exports. Therefore, the United States supported the establishment of the European Communities (ECSC, EEC, Euratom). According to the U.S. plan, the liberalization of trade relations between Western European countries should subsequently be extrapolated to their trade with outside partners. While the first part of this plan was successfully implemented, problems arose with the second one: the foreign economic policy of the European Communities followed the protectionist course. Thus, the American leadership faced a new challenge, i.e., to achieve the liberalization of Western European trade with external partners.

Keywords: USA, Western Europe, World War II, world economic order, Bretton Woods System, IMF, IBRD, GATT, Marshall Plan, OEEC, European integration, ECSC

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