Revenue, Constraint, and Reciprocity: The Evolution of Customs Policy

This text provides an in-depth analysis of US tariff policy, based on Douglas Irwin's framework. The author reconstructs the historical logic of state governance through the "R" triad: revenue, restriction, and reciprocity. The article demonstrates how tariffs evolved from a simple fiscal tool into complex protectionist mechanisms fueled by lobbying and logrolling, ultimately becoming the foundation of the contemporary, institutionalized trade order. Readers will learn how the asymmetry of interest group incentives and the delegation of legislative powers shaped the global economy and the transition from the restrictive Hawley-Smoot tariff to the liberalization of the GATT system.