> The declaration was signed by most of the great powers of the day: Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United

> The declaration was signed by most of the great powers of the day: Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. (It was also signed by the Netherlands and Spain.)[1] However, no state ever ratified the declaration and consequently it never came into force.[2] The United States insisted that the belligerent nations fighting in World War I abide by the Declaration, while the British and Germans ignored it. Also it would have made the blockade more of a war crime, not less.