Protective tariff

Protective tariffs are tariffs that are enacted with the aim of protecting a domestic industry. Tariffs are also imposed in order to raise government revenue, or to reduce an undesirable activity (sin tax). Although a tariff can simultaneously protect domestic industry and earn government revenue, the goals of protection and revenue maximization suggest different tariff rates, entailing a tradeoff between the two aims.

How tariffs work

A tariff is a tax added onto goods imported into a country; protective tariffs are taxes that render the cost of a foreign import higher than the cost of the initially costlier domestic good. For example, if a piece of cloth cost $4 in Britain and $4 in the United States, the American government would have to impose a tariff to make the price of British cloth higher for Americans. The underlying goal for a protective tariff is to protect domestic industry from foreign competition.

History

United States

Alexander Hamilton was the first American to propose the use of protective tariffs to promote industrialization in his "Report on Manufactures."Hamilton thought that a tariff on textile imports would subsidize American efforts to establish manufacturing facilities to eventually compete with those of the British. After the War of 1812, cheap British products flooded the American market, which undercut and threatened the infantile industry of the United States. Congress set a tariff in 1816 in order to prevent some of these British goods from entering the United States, followed by another in 1824 and culminating with the controversial Tariff of Abominations in 1828.

President John Quincy Adams approved the Tariff of Abominations after it received a majority vote in the House of Representatives. This 1828 tariff's goal was to protect Northern and Western agricultural products from foreign competition, but in doing so sparked a national debate over the constitutionality of placing tariffs on imports without the intent to merely raise duty revenue. The earmarked items in this case included iron, molasses, distilled spirits, flax, and other finished goods. Opposition to this tariff came predominantly from the South since this region lacked a manufacturing sector, leaving it dependent on the North and foreign trade to supply its manufactures. In addition to artificially elevating import costs, the so-called "Tariff of Abominations" afflicted the South by hampering its cotton trade to England, the region's primary source of income. This 1828 tariff was so unpopular that it played a significant role in the failure of John Quincy Adams' reelection bid in 1828.

Confederate States

The Confederate Constitution prohibited protective tariffs but allowed tariffs for providing domestic revenue.

Current use

In present day, the International Trade Commission reports over 12,000 specific tariffs on imports to the United States, including those on agricultural, textile, and manufactured items. Tobacco has a 350% tariff duty; unshelled peanuts have a 163.8% duty; European meats, truffles, and Roquefort cheese are tacked with a 100% tariff rate. Domestic sectors for these same products depend on tariffs in order to survive; without these elevated costs of competition, American goods would simply cost more than their foreign alternatives and would suffer in the eyes of consumers.

See also

• Tariffs
• Protectionism

Further reading

• Atack, Jeremy, Peter Passell, and Susan Lee. A New Economic View of American History: From Colonial Times to 1940. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1994. 125.
• Bianco, David. "Trade Barriers." Reference for Business.
• Boundless Open Textbook."Protective Tariffs."
• Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition, "protective tariff." HarperCollins Publishers.
• "History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives. "The Tariff of Abominations."
• "25 American Products That Rely on Huge Protective Tariffs To Survive." Business Insider, Sept. 2010.
• McNamara, Robert. "Definition of Tariff of Abominations." About.com.
• Van Duyne. "How a Protective Tariff Works." mrvanduyne.com.