The programme paved the way for free trade. In 1960, Ireland signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), a worldwide agreement to reduce tariffs. In 1961, Ireland applied unsuccessfully for membership of the European Economic Community. Ireland's failure to join was said to be Lemass's biggest regret and disappointment as Taoiseach. Ireland eventually joined in 1973, two years after Lemass's death. The 1965 Merger Treaties paved the way for the signing of the Anglo-Irish Trade Agreement between Lemass's government and Harold Wilson's Labour government.