The article explores how high import tariffs were in 1947 when negotiations started to lower them under the GATT. By examining historical data, it shows that the average tariff level at the beginning of the talks was around 22 percent, not the commonly believed 40 percent. The research reveals that core GATT countries like the US, UK, Canada, and Australia reduced their tariffs more than other important nations in the late 1940s and early 1950s. This indicates that these core countries made significant cuts to their tariffs compared to the rest, as part of the GATT negotiations.