tariff reform

tariff reform (UK) An issue which was at the heart of British politics for over a century until the 1930s. In 1846, the repeal of the Corn Laws (a tariff on imported grain) enshrined the doctrine of free trade (ideally the absence of import duties) as the linchpin of British politics. The idea came under sustained pressure from 1900, owing to the imposition of import duties by Britain's main industrializing trading partners. In 1903, Joseph Chamberlain proposed a scheme of Imperial Preference. Accordingly, Britain would only impose duties on foodstuffs imported from outside the British Empire, while in return Britain's colonies and Dominions would exempt British industrial goods from import duties. The scheme was designed to strengthen the Empire through increasing the trade flow of primary goods to Britain, and industrial machinery from Britain. It was hoped that the Empire would prove an effective emotional motive to mobilize support. However, the tariff divided Britain between those who benefited from it and those who did not. It was unpopular with industrial workers, as it would lead to an increase in the price of basic foodstuffs, while a large proportion of British businesses, which concentrated on trade with the Americas, would have suffered. As a result, Chamberlain's campaign divided the Conservative Party, and gave the ardently pro-free-trade Liberal Party a crucial boost which enabled it to win the 1906 elections. The issue re-emerged in 1923, when Baldwin unsuccessfully fought an election primarily on this issue. The emotional appeal of free trade diminished only as a consequence of the Great Depression, when Britain simply had to respond to the protective tariffs raised worldwide. Tariffs were adopted by MacDonald's National Government under the Ottawa Agreement of 1932. Imperial Preference ended with Britain's entry into the European Economic Community (European integration) in 1973.

protectionism