ABSTRACT
The passage of the Reciprocal Trade Act in 1934 marked a turning point in American foreign-trade policy. This chapter reviews the trend of tariffs in the era when Congress dominated tariff-making. Tariffs were approximately doubled in the hope of increasing revenues, a hope that was not realized because the war itself blocked the sea lanes, and foreign trade almost ceased. Imports of the same goods were assessed an additional tariff to compensate for the internal taxes. Vote-bartering over particular provisions of tariff acts obscured broad principles, and the regulations grew ever more lengthy and complex as varying interests were served. A number of the protectionist tariffs were passed through Congresses in which protectionists were actually in the minority. Although the tariff continued for many years to be the chief source of national revenue, it was by the time of the Civil War being challenged by other sources.
