Revisiting the history of trade conflicts: Lessons from the Modern Tariff Era

Trade has always reflected more than the movement of goods—it mirrors the ambitions, anxieties, and ideologies of nations.

- DR. SHWETA SHARMA

Across centuries, economic rivalry has been both a cause of cooperation and a source of conflict. From Britain's nineteenth-century Corn Laws to Donald Trump's tariff battles in the twenty-first century, the pendulum between free trade and protectionism continues to swing with remarkable consistency.

HISTORICAL ROOTS OF PROTECTIONISM

In the early 1800s, when Britain's agricultural economy faced new challenges, the ruling class turned to protectionist laws to safeguard its interests. The Corn Laws (1815-1846) imposed tariffs on imported grain, ensuring profits for landowners but burdening urban consumers with soaring food prices. What began as a policy of stability soon became a flashpoint for social unrest. Reformers like Richard Cobden and John Bright rallied workers and industrialists under the banner of free trade, arguing that prosperity lay in open markets, not isolation. The repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 symbolized a triumph of economic liberalism over aristocratic privilege and established Britain's image as the champion of free trade.