Pros and cons as to Cuban reciprocity. Our "plain duty to Cuba" advocated by the administration party Cuba gaining courage; "drifting" towards other countries. Movement for tariff reform inside the Republican party. Cuban reciprocity economically examined. Is reciprocity in general desirable for the consumer? Reciprocity from the standpoint of the producer. CHAPTER I THE ORIGIN AND NATURE OF THE RECIPROCITY IDEA THE term "reciprocity" as now currently used is employed in most cases with only a vague or very general notion regarding its meaning. In current speaking and writing, it usually implies no more than the bare notion of tariff reductions made by some specified nation or country in compensation for some reductions made in favor of such a nation by a second. The actual definitions of the word now given vary widely, both in definiteness and in what they connote regarding the nature and desirableness of the policy to which they relate. 1 In the most general sense, the definition furnished by President Hadley may be accepted. According to him:1 "Reciprocity is a relation between two independent powers, such that the citizens of each are guaranteed certain commercial privileges at the hands of the other." It thus appears that he makes no effort to confine the term to tariff matters, but regards it as representative of a broad aspect of commercial policy. In this view of things a mutual grant of "privileges" is the essence of the reciprocity idea. A further attempt is made to define reciprocity when it is specified that the "privileges" to be granted must be equivalent. Thus one recent writer, basing his definition upon a study of the public papers of the Presidents of the United States, remarks: 2 1 "Reciprocity." Lalor's Cyclopædia of Political Science, Vol. III., p. 537. * Messages and Papers of the Presidents, Vol. 10, p. 562. Index and Appendix. Very similar to this is the definition furnished by the Standard Dictionary. "Equality between the citizens of two countries with respect to the commercial privileges to be enjoyed by each within the domain of the other to the extent provided by treaty." I "Reciprocity is the granting by, one nation of certain commercial privileges to another, whereby the citizens of both are placed upon an equal basis in certain branches of commerce." Most of those who attempt to define the term are not content with specifying that the word reciprocity means a mutual grant of commercial privileges and that such grants must be "equivalent," but attempt to confine the word to tariff concessions purely. Thus, according to one authority, reciprocity is: 3 “A term for an arrangement between two countries having a protective tariff against other countries, to admit each into the other's territories certain specified taxable articles of commerce duty-free, or at exceptionally light duties. The classes of articles are arranged to balance one another on one side and the other. Such mutual arrangements are sometimes called Fair Trade, as opposed to Free Trade and thoroughgoing protection." This definition may be taken as aptly descriptive of the general notions on the subject of reciprocity. It implies nothing with regard to modifications of the relations between either of the contracting parties and any third, and offers merely a description of the act involved in the adoption of a reciprocity treaty by the two parties to it. * Chambers's Encyclopædia, Vol. VIII., p. 598. 4 "Equality of commercial privileges between the subjects of different govern. ments in each other's ports, with respect to shipping or merchandise, to the extent established by treaty." The Century Dictionary and Encyclopædia. "A term in economics commonly applied in international relationships to the arrangement whereby two nations mutually agree to import to each other certain goods, either duty free, or with duties which are equivalent."-New Cabinet Cyclopædia, Vol. VII. "Reciprocity in trade is an agreement made between two countries whereby they agree to make reciprocal or equivalent reductions in the duties on certain articles."-Bliss, Encyclopædia of Social Reform, p. 1177. "In commercial relations, a mutual agreement between nations to secure reciprocal trade, and involving a modification of regular tariff rates."-Harper's Encyclopædia of United States History, Vol. 7, p. 383. A curious reminiscence of the years when we sought to build up an American commercial policy is found in the following: "A term that has recently become part of the vocabulary of American politics, and signifies such an arrangement between the United States and other countries of America, as will open the markets of each reciprocally to the products of the other." -International Cyclopædia, Vol. XII., p. 469. A review of commercial history will show clearly what the term reciprocity meant when first used and will furnish the means for a better comprehension of its modern significance. It was first properly employed in connection with the "navigation system." During the eighteenth century an elaborate scheme of shipping restrictions had grown up. These restrictions sought to compel trade to travel in bottoms belonging to the nation which enacted the navigation laws. So general were the restrictions imposed by these laws that it finally became apparent that the system was proving hurtful instead of beneficial to shipping interests. The efforts made by various countries to hamper each other's trade resulted in almost as much injury to the attacking country as to its antagonist. The first breakdown came shortly after the American Revolution when England, by the order in council of July 2, 1783, decided to put American ships upon the same footing as British so far as concerned direct trade with the mother country. This step was not taken from any humanitarian motives, but was solely due to the fear that a failure to concede the point would result in a loss of the large trade with the former colonies. By the same order in council, however, which relaxed the particular provisions of the navigation laws. already referred to with regard to the United States, trade with the West Indies was confined to British ships, the design. being to deprive the United States of the benefits of this traffic and to divert it to British North America. This policy led to sharp protests from the West Indies themselves and from various British interests which felt themselves to be imperiled. Nothing of any importance, however, was done until after the war of 1812. In 1815, a treaty was concluded between Great Britain and the United States by one clause of which it was agreed that the ships of neither nation should be liable to greater charges in the ports of the other than were exacted by such nation in its own ports. |