Seven Trade Wars in American History.
In the past 300 years, the United States has participated in many trade wars. Some of them led to the revolution (Boston Tea Party incident), while others ended in tragic results (Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act)
Boston Tea Party
Major Participants: North American Colonial Residents, British Parliament
Trade (War) Tools: Tea
On December 16, 1773, at Boston's Griffin Dock, when North American colonists were dissatisfied with the British Empire's Stamp Act and Townsend Act (the two Acts required almost all products from North American colonies——
Newspapers, playing cards, glass, tea——All need to be taxed.
When a political protest was launched, the voice of "no representative, no tax" resounded through the air. After the Boston Massacre in 1770 (British troops clashed with North American colonists and 5 North American residents died), Britain abolished all taxes except the tea tax, which led to colonial resistance to the British East India Company and stimulated tea smuggling. The Boston Tea Party was organized by "sons of liberty". In the evening, 116 men threw 342 boxes of tea off the ship. These teas were worth 92000 pounds at that time, but today they are equivalent to 1 million US dollars.
Results: The British Parliament and King George III promulgated Coercive Acts, which included closing Boston harbor until the tea indemnity was paid. Stop free elections in Massachusetts; And ordered colonial residents to resettle British troops as required. In response from North America, other colonies sent supplies to Boston and began to advocate independence. Soon after, the War of Independence broke out on April 19, 1775.
Smoot-Hawley Act
Major participants: United States, Canada, Europe and other countries
Trade (War) Tools: Thousands of Imported Commodities
At first, U.S. President Herbert? Hoover started to deal with an agricultural crisis in the early days of the Great Depression and proposed to impose tariffs on agricultural imports. However, senators Reed Smoot and Willis C. Hawley believe that a series of industrial tariffs should be increased. Although 1,000 American economists petitioned Hoover to veto the plan, it did not succeed. Subsequently, countries around the world responded by imposing tariffs on U.S. exports, adding more pressure to the already mired economy.
Results: The Smoot-Hawley Act was regarded by many as a disaster and triggered retaliation from other countries including Canada. As a result, it led to a 61% drop in U.S. exports in 1933 and brought economic recovery to a standstill during the Great Depression. To a large extent, Hoover was defeated by franklin roosevelt in the following election due to the failure of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act (Smoot and Hawley were also ousted). Roosevelt's 1934 Reciprocal Trade Agreement Act replaced the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, enabling the President to negotiate a tariff reduction.
Chinken Friction
Major Participants: US, France and West Germany
Trade (war) tools: chicken, brandy, trucks, etc
With the rise of large-scale factory chicken production in the United States, countries around the world have started to buy cheap poultry from the United States, and the import of chicken from Europe has soared. However, France and West Germany imposed high tariffs on American poultry at that time, causing great losses to the American poultry industry. Under the leadership of lyndon johnson, the US government imposed a 25% tariff on products including German Volkswagen (especially its "light truck"), French brandy, potato starch and dextrin.
As a result, Japan's automobile industry has also been hit hard by tariffs (the proportion of "light trucks" in Japan's automobile industry is very high). However, companies such as Toyota and Isuzu have also found some loopholes, such as setting up assembly plants in the United States to avoid these tariffs.
In 1963, chicken farm owner m h (bill) Simmons was sitting among a group of chickens
The 1987 Japan-US Trade War
Jabs at Japan
Major Participants: US and Japan
Trade (war) tools: automobiles, electronic products, motorcycles
In 1987, President Reagan doubled the import price of 300 million US dollars worth of Japanese computers, power tools and televisions. The Reagan administration said the tariffs were a response to Japan's failure to comply with the agreement, which stipulates that Japan will allow more U.S. products to enter its market and stop under-pricing U.S. semiconductor computer chips. In the 1980s, Japanese cars were also subject to high tariffs.
Results: Japan chose not to fight back. Japanese Trade Minister Tamura Hajime told the media, "In order to prevent this problem from causing serious damage to the global free trade system, the Japanese government has decided not to take any retaliatory measures immediately from a broader perspective." Economists Anna Zhou and Ethan Harris of Bank of America Merrill Lynch said tariffs did not ease the U.S. trade deficit. Sales of Japanese cars in the United States fell 3%. In 1984, US consumers paid about 53 billion US dollars more for import duties.
War of Woods
Major Participants: US and Canada
Trade (war) tools: softwood (pine, cedar, fir)
Canada obtains timber from public land at a price determined by the government. The US timber is mainly on private land, and the price is driven by the market. In 1982, the United States believed Canada was unfairly subsidizing its softwood. The deadlock between the two sides led to years of disputes and persistent tariffs.
Results: Although Canada expects to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in softwood tariffs in 2018, with the booming residential construction industry, US consumers are also facing record wood prices. According to a study by the timber industry publication Random length, by 2018, the cost of timber in western Canada had risen by about 40%.
In 2017, an operator in west virginia moved logs at Cyblair sawmill.
As the rising demand for housing and the threat of US tariffs on cork imports from Canada have raised concerns about supply, the current timber trading price is at a 13-year high.
Battle of Bananas
Major Participants: US, Europe, Latin America
Trade (War) Tools: Bananas, European Luxury Goods
In the United States, banana production is not high except Hawaii and Florida, but many banana farms in Latin America are owned by American companies. The United States complained as early as 1993 that Europe imposed high tariffs on fruits from Latin America in order to give its former Caribbean colony an advantage in the market. In retaliation, the United States imposed tariffs on French handbags, British linens and Danish ham
Results: After filing eight complaints with the World Trade Organization, the European Union agreed to gradually relax tariffs in 2009. In 2012, the banana war finally ended. "I never thought in my life that I would spend so much time on bananas." At that time, U.S. Secretary of State Albright said so.
In 2006, a Honduran worker carried bananas in a banana warehouse in the capital Tegucigalpa. The Honduran government submitted an application to the WTO to protest against the banana tariffs imposed by the EU
Tariffs of Steel
Major Participants: US, Europe
Trade (War) Tools: Steel, Oranges
In order to revitalize the steel industry in the United States, George w bush imposed temporary tariffs ranging from 8% to 30% on steel imports. Canada and Mexico were exempted from customs duties due to the existence of the North American Free Trade Agreement, but the European Union promptly retaliated by imposing customs duties on Florida oranges and American cars. The World Trade Organization also filed a complaint against the United States, claiming that the United States violated its tariff commitments. Bush abolished tariffs within 18 months, ahead of the planned three-year deadline.
Results: Tariffs led to a rise in steel prices. According to data from the International Economic Research Institute, the steel tariff war has cost up to 26,000 jobs in industries that need steel. However, some analysts believe that the steel industry itself has created more jobs and slightly increased profits.
A union leader of the British Consort Group claimed that Britain could lose more than 5,000 jobs due to the new tariffs imposed by the United States.