Tariffs have a long history in the US - two charts tell that story
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There's a chart that's been doing the rounds in recent weeks - American businessman Marc Andreessen tweeted it, and then it was reposted by Donald Trump himself. The chart is pretty simple: it shows the proportion of American federal government revenues coming from tariffs, going all the way back to the early days of American independence.
And to glance at, it tells a compelling story. For nearly all of the 19th century, tariffs imposed on goods imported into America provided more than half the government's revenues. The president's interpretation was as follows: "The tariffs, and tariffs alone, created this vast wealth for our country. Then we switched over to income tax. We were never so wealthy as during this period. Tariffs will pay off our debt and, MAKE AMERICA WEALTHY AGAIN!".
Money blog: New tax rises now 'a good bet' for 2025. The first half of his post is quite true. America's federal economy was largely built on revenues from tariffs. When Alexander Hamilton was designing much of the federal infrastructure, not to mention paying the debts from the War of Independence, he chose to fund it with tariffs and duties on goods imported to the country.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player. Revenue wasn't the only reason for the tariffs. They were there, too, to protect the country's nascent industries. But those tariffs were the main source of income for a long time. What changed? Well, from the late 19th century onwards, the size of the American state expanded. Paying for the Civil War was expensive; funding a growing welfare state and national infrastructure in the following decades likewise.
