The Trade Policy of Argentina, 1870-1913. A Study through Customs Legislation

The literature dedicated to the study of Argentine commercial policy during the period 1870-1913 has alternately established it as liberal, protectionist or fiscalist. In this research, we propose to study it mainly from the customs laws - although we also use other dispositions, resolutions and decrees related to the subject. Our hypothesis is that the Argentine trade policy cannot easily be categorized, because it showed both signs of liberalization and protectionism, and fiscal intentions. In effect, sectors with interests, sometimes similar and sometimes dissimilar, influenced the evolution of trade policy. This paper has been divided into four parts. It begins by presenting which the tax-free exports and imports were. It then goes on to observe which products paid export and import duties, what was the weight of customs duties on state revenues, what the average tariff levels were, and what the difference between nominal protection and implicit protection was. In the next section, we present what elements should be studied in order to reach a complete analysis of the commercial policy, which includes the reconstruction of the effective tariffs of the period, both for exports and for imports. Finally, we make a balance (still provisional) based on the main findings of this research.