Adherence: economic liberalism and British trade policy in 1820-1913

Abstract

In what extent was the British trade policy liberal between 1820 and 1913? This paper constructs an answer to this question based both on a brief overview on the liberal theory of international trade and on the analysis of secondary sources on the British trade policy. It is asserted that the liberal theory considers the increase in imports, and not in exports, as the main goal in international trade. The theory's normative message thus points out that unilateral liberalization is the best trade policy. It is then seen that the British trade policy was coherent with the liberal normative message as it promoted unilateral liberalization. However, such policy's main goal was to increase exports, which supports the conclusion that the British trade policy was not strictu sensu liberal, but adhered to liberalism in 1820-1913.