How tariffs have worked for four other countries
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President Trump’s high tariffs would make the U.S. one of the world’s most protectionist countries.
There are precedents: Countries from India to Argentina have used tariffs—and a range of other trade restrictions—to protect nascent industries and freeze out imports. In a few rare instances, these measures led to results that pleased the architects of protectionist measures, such as spurring car production in Asia and boosting refrigerator manufacturing in South America. But in most cases, tariffs and other measures resulted in poorly made appliances, highly expensive imports and industrial stagnation—factories that couldn’t compete in the open market while snuffing out innovation, economists say.
It left many countries mired in slow-growth cycles, more dependent on exporting natural resources than competing in fast-growing global sectors. Here are four countries that have—or had—depended on tariffs and how they fared. India, in the decades after its 1947 independence from Britain, went with an import-substitution policy—which sought to replace imports with locally produced goods—designed to create homegrown factories by leveling high tariffs.
The plan failed to create a vibrant high-growth economy. Then, in the two decades following a financial crisis in 1991, India dropped tariffs to an average of 13% from 125% on trade partners. The country’s economy leapfrogged from the world’s 12th largest to now the fifth-biggest.
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