Until Jackie Robinson was hired by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1946, a gentlemen`s agreement ensured that African-American players were excluded from organized baseball. [18] A report by the U.S. House of Representatives, detailing its investigation of the United States Steel Corporation, stated that in the 1890s there were two types of loose associations or consolidations between steel and ferrous interests in which the various groups held ownership, as well as a high degree of independence: the „pool“ and the „gentleman`s agreement.“ [5] The latter type lacked a formal organisation to regulate production or prices or forfeiture rules in the event of infringement. [5] The effectiveness of the agreement relied on members to meet informal commitments. [5] If someone is on a gentlemen`s agreement, you should also abide by the rules. Long-term partnerships based on trust and equity are generally more successful than short-term profit. In addition, unfair trade practices often spread rapidly, making it more difficult to forge new alliances. And apart from that, it`s just a good feeling to be able to count on a word that is still gilded and respected, even without a written contract. It makes the world more livable.

Gentlemen`s agreements have come to regulate international activities as the coordination of monetary or trade policies. [13] According to Edmund Osmasczyk in the United Nations Encyclopedia and International Agreements, it is also defined as „an international term for an oral and unwritten but fully valid agreement.“ [14] This type of agreement may allow a nation to circumvent national legal requirements to enter into a formal contract[13] or it may be useful for a government to want to enter into a secret agreement that does not engage the next government. [15] According to another author, all international agreements are gentlemen`s agreements because, just before the war, they are all unenforceable. [15] Osmaczyk noted that there was a difference between gentlemen`s open agreements and secret diplomatic agreements. [14] In the United States, in 1890, the prohibition of gentlemen`s agreements was introduced in interstate trade relations because the secrecy of these agreements was beyond anyone`s control. [14] In English contract law, for an agreement to be binding, legal relations must be considered; but in trade (i.e.