Journal of Economic Perspectives
ISSN 0895-3309 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7965 (Online)
US Tariff Policy since 1789
Journal of Economic Perspectives
(pp. 47–72)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
We use a newly assembled, tariff-line-level dataset spanning the full history of US trade policy to revisit the evolution of tariffs since 1789. We document the institutional shift from Congressional setting to multilateral negotiation, the steady growth in granularity of the tariff code alongside expanding administrative capacity, and the under-appreciated role of specific tariffs, which feature prominently throughout US history and whose ad valorem equivalent moves mechanically with prices. We discuss the implications of this relationship for how we interpret past liberalization episodes and for empirical identification of tariff effects. Finally, we outline how the new data can advance research on the political economy of tariff-setting and on the macroeconomic and distributional consequences of trade policy.Citation
Acosta, Miguel, Lydia Cox, Andrew Greenland, John Lopresti, Christopher M. Meissner, Martin Rotemberg, and Sharon Traiberman. 2026. "US Tariff Policy since 1789." Journal of Economic Perspectives 40 (3): 47–72. DOI: 10.1257/jep.20251488Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
- F13 Trade Policy; International Trade Organizations
- N41 Economic History: Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
- N42 Economic History: Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation: U.S.; Canada: 1913-
- N71 Economic History: Transport, Trade, Energy, Technology, and Other Services: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
- N72 Economic History: Transport, Trade, Energy, Technology, and Other Services: U.S.; Canada: 1913-