The agitation to preserve an “open door” in China and the ma
Citations (1)
- The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers whole source · open book
The agitation to preserve an “open door” in China and the massive interest shown in making the United States the dominant economic force in Latin America were only two of the manifestations of this concern to expand the country’s share of world trade.162 Between 1860 and 1914 the United States increased its exports more than sevenfold (from $334 million to $2,365 billion), yet because it was so protective of its own market, imports increased only fivefold (from $356 million to $1,896 billion). Faced with this avalanche of cheap American food, continental European farmers agitated for higher tariffs—which they usually got; in Britain, which had already sacrificed its grain farmers for the cause of free trade, it was the flood of American machines, and iron and steel, which produced alarm.
chapter: The Position of the Powers, 1885–1914