The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement introduced in 1947 to encourage international trade. Prior to the Uruguay round of negotiations, which took place between 1986 and 1994, agricultural products had been effectively exempt from GATT rules. However, the Uruguay negotiations led to the Agreement on Agriculture, which opened up agricultural markets by reducing tariffs on agricultural goods and limiting government subsidies for agricultural exports and domestic production. This agreement has been widely criticised, particularly by the food sovereignty movement, for having negative impacts on smallholder farmers and poorer countries. Following the Uruguay round of negotiations, GATT was replaced by the World Trade Organisation.