From Hamilton's 'You'll Be Back' to backfiring tariffs – the long legacy of US trade barriers
Yet, Hamilton was key in what must be one of the oldest tariff proposals in the US' history. In 1789, he communicated the Act Laying Duties on Imports was to the United States House of Representatives, proposing that imported goods be more expensive, which would force Americans to buy more homemade products and boost the local manufacturing sector.
While the direct results of Hamilton's tariffs are lost to history, this Act was followed by many more. In fact, the US has a long history of imposing import duties, with serious – yet unintended – negative consequences.
The latest trade war is due to US President Donald Trump's recent imposition of tariffs, which varied widely from his first 'Liberation Day' announcement and have already been extended beyond August 1 for negotiations – except for South Africa and other countries that received a letter.
In a 1976 paper detailing the background and emergence of the US Trade Commission, author John Dobson commented amid its 146 pages that: 'Perhaps the safest conclusion one can draw from a study of tariffs in general, and the history of the US tariff in particular, is that change, and controversy are ever present and perhaps inevitable.'
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