| Year |
Name |
Description |
| 1789 |
Tariff of 1789 |
Primarily for revenue; some protection for "infant industries;" (Washington administration). |
| 1816 |
Tariff of 1816 |
First protective tariff; Clay and Calhoun supported as part of American System; Southern cotton growers opposed; (Madison administration). |
| 1824 |
Tariff of 1824 |
Further heightening of rates; growing opposition from South; (Monroe administration). |
| 1828 |
"Tariff of Abominations" |
Higher protective measures for New England mills; Southerners outraged, including Calhoun; (J.Q. Adams administration). |
| 1832 |
Tariff of 1832 |
Moderate reform returned rates to 1824 levels; unmoved South Carolina sparked Nullification Crisis; (Jackson administration). |
| 1833 |
Tariff of 1833 |
Clay compromise; gradual reduction of rates over time to 1816 levels; New England states opposed; (Jackson administration). |
| 1842 |
Tariff of 1842 |
Upward revision forced by depression following Panic of 1837;
(Tyler administration). |
| 1846 |
Walker Tariff |
Democrats controlled Congress; West supported tariff reduction in hope of selling grain abroad; move toward tariff for revenue only; (Polk administration). |
| 1857 |
Tariff of 1857 |
Downward tariff revision to almost free trade status; North opposed; (Buchanan administration). |
1861-
1865 |
Wartime tariff acts |
Steadily increased protectionism to help fund Union war costs; South not represented in Congress during Civil War; (Buchanan and Lincoln administrations). |
| 1872 |
Tariff of 1872 |
Post-war reform tariff, reduced rates on some manufactured goods; (Grant administration). |
| 1875 |
Tariff of 1875 |
Continued downward revision; average rates reduced by 10 percent; (Grant administration). |
| 1883 |
"Mongrel" Tariff |
Republicans abandoned reform; compromise satisfied no one; (Arthur administration). |
| 1890 |
McKinley Tariff |
Highest protective tariff to date: average 48 percent; (B. Harrison administration). |
| 1894 |
Wilson-Gorman Tariff |
Reform measure crippled by Senate amendments; (Cleveland 2nd administration). |
| 1897 |
Dingley Tariff |
Blatantly protective measure; some rates at 57 percent; (McKinley administration). |
| 1909 |
Payne-Aldrich Tariff |
Attempt to lower average level of duties; little meaningful reform; Progressives angered; (Taft administration). |
| 1913 |
Underwood-Simmons Tariff |
Democrats took control of Congress; general duty reduction soon negated by outbreak of World War I; federal income tax provision; (Wilson administration). |
| 1921 |
Emergency Tariff |
Republicans returned to power and responded to mini-depression; raised agricultural rates to protect farmers; only a stopgap measure until new law written; (Harding administration). |
| 1922 |
Fordney-McCumber Tariff |
Increased rates sharply; president empowered to adjust rates; Tariff Commission created to advise president; (Harding administration). |
| 1930 |
Hawley-Smoot Tariff |
Raised U.S. duties to an all-time high; 1,000 economists protested; foreign retaliation; (Hoover administration). |
| 1934 |
Hull Trade Pacts |
Reciprocal treaties to reduce tariffs and stimulate trade during depression; (F. Roosevelt administration). |
| 1948 |
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) |
United Nations organization created to seek tariff reductions. |
| 1962 |
Trade Expansion Act |
President received authority to negotiate tariff reductions up to 50 percent; aimed primarily at European Economic Community (later European Union); (Kennedy administration). |
1963-
1967 |
"Kennedy Round" |
GATT talks aimed at tariff reduction, primarily with Western Europe; approximate 33 percent reductions; (L. Johnson administration). |
1973-
1979 |
"Tokyo Round" |
GATT talks aimed at non-tariff trade barriers; included non-GATT members; (Nixon administration). |
| 1974 |
Trade Act of 1974 |
President given authority to end tariff duties against products from developing nations; (Ford administration). |
| 1993 |
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) |
U.S., Canada and Mexico end most trade barriers; (Clinton administration). |
| 1994 |
GATT/WTO |
New GATT agreement signed; World Trade Organization (WTO) formed; (Clinton administration). |
