According to democrats, international tariff agreements, not crime, not communism, not terrorism, not leftism, not black racism, lawlessness, hatred, and violence, or other wickedness, are the real threats to the US.
The evolution of U.S. tariff policy from 1790 to 2019 can be divided into three distinct periods, each characterized by a different primary objective: revenue generation (1790–1860), import restriction (1861–1933), and reciprocity through trade agreements (1934–present). During the revenue period, average tariffs increased from approximately 20% to 60%, before declining again to around 20% by 1860. In the subsequent restriction period, the average tariff on dutiable imports rose to roughly 50% and remained at that level for several decades. Beginning in 1934, the reciprocity period marked a sharp decline in tariff rates, which eventually stabilized at approximately 5%, a level that has persisted into the 21st century.[1] Many of the fluctuations in average tariffs over time were not the result of deliberate policy shifts, but rather due to changes in import prices interacting with “specific duties”—fixed dollar amounts per unit of quantity, rather than percentages of import value. For example, price increases during World War I and deflation during the Great Depression produced temporary spikes and dips in the average tariff level. A significant drop in tariffs following World War II was largely driven by inflation: roughly two-thirds of the decline between 1944 and 1950 resulted from rising prices, and one-third from tariff reductions negotiated at the first GATT conference in 1947.[1]
Although the average tariff on dutiable imports has fluctuated considerably over time, the underlying tariff rates set by policymakers have been more stable than the raw data might suggest. These rates are typically structured to reflect the overarching goals of revenue generation, import restriction, or trade reciprocity.
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