Processi di liberalizzazione tra integrazione continentale e conflittualità internazionale. Italia, Europa, Oece (1947-1953)

This article examines Italy’s experience in the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (Oeec) in the aftermath of World War II. In particular, it explores the trade liberalization strategies pursued by Italy in the framework of the Organization, such as the progressive reduction of duties, tariffs and quotas on imports of goods from Western Europe’s markets. Furthermore, the article analyzes the most important negotiations that marked Italy’s participation in the Oeec trade liberalization scheme between the late 1940s and the early 1950s, namely the Stikker and Pella Plans (1950); the establishment of the European Payments Union (Epu) in 1950; the liberalization package envisaged by La Malfa in 1951; the reintroduction of quantitative restrictions by the United Kingdom and France in 1951- 1952. The aim of this article is to investigate the features, assumptions and outcomes of the “philosophy of liberalization” undertaken by Italy’s ruling classes in the broader context of the European economic integration process, and the origins of what would later become the European common market.