Lessons from Early America’s Tariff Wars – John C. Pinheiro

Donald J. Trump says tariffs are going to make our country rich; Chuck Schumer says they will raise prices on U.S. families by as much as $1,200 a year.

Julian Zelizer : The debate over who wins and who loses from tariffs is not new; it's not even populist.

Zelizer says the most contentious issue in early America was the tariff, especially a protective tariff designed to discourage foreign trade.

In 1789 , two years before Hamilton submitted his “ Report on the Subject of Manufactures ” to Congress , Madison proposed commercial restrictions.

Peter Bergen : Madison relied on a system of “commercial discrimination” that he claimed would favor friendly nations.

He says Madison wanted to prevent a continued British monopoly on American trade and, ultimately, achieve fairer trade relations.

Bergen says Madison 's system favored Southern Planters rather than New England industrialists.

Madison did not understand how international trade worked and seemed oblivious to how similar his system of “commercial discrimination” was to Hamilton ’s tariff plans.

Each man proposed a regime that would see the US Congress choosing winners and losers in an illiberal game of favoritism open to substantial corruption.

Tariffs are not just economically bad but also suppress those virtues produced by and necessary to a free, commercial society.