ABSTRACT
International trade policy has always been a prominent weapon in the arsenal of economic policy, although it has undergone or is in the process of undergoing a fundamental change. The simplest way of measuring the level of tariffs is to take the receipts from customs duties as a percentage of total imports in the same year. The continued rise in the level of customs duties from 1955 has, on the other hand, been the result of a deliberate policy. An examination of different goods indicates the correctness of what has been said, and it also provides a starting-point for assessing how tariff increases ought to be adjusted from the resource use point of view. From the point of view of foreign trade policy, therefore, it is essential for these countries to industrialize, both because of this slowing down in the rate of increase in demand and because of the pronounced cyclical fluctuations that occur in raw materials.
