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Tariff of 1789

One of the major early actions of Congress was the passage of the Tariff Act of 1789, which was designed to:

  • raise revenues for the new government by placing a tariff on the importation of foreign goods (averaging more than 8 percent)
  • encourage domestic production in such industries as glass and pottery by taxing the importation of those products from foreign sources.

What is a Tariff? Also see tariff table summary.