17th century Tobacco is the first important American export 18th century Colonies export tobacco, rice, indigo, grain, and meat products 1789 First tariff act, for revenue only 1789-1860 The tariff is a perennial subject of contention between the agricultural interests of the South and West and the commercial interests of the North 1790 Value of tobacco exports: $4.36 million or 44% of total exports 1800-09 Average annual value of agricultural exports: $23 million or 75% of total exports 1810-19 Agricultural exports: $40 million/year or 87% of total exports 1815-60 Cotton is by far the most important agricultural export 1816 Tariff of 1816 includes protection for wool, sugar, hemp, and flax 1820-29 Agricultural exports: $42 million/year or 65% of total exports 1828 Tariff of Abominations opposed by the agricultural South 1830-39 Agricultural exports: $74 million/year or 73% of total exports 1833 Tariff Act of 1833 begins tariff-reducing trend that lasts until the Civil War 1840-49 Agricultural exports: $90 million/year or 65% of total exports 1850-59 Agricultural exports: $189 million/year or 81% of total exports 1851-60 Cotton exports: $124 million per year or 54% of total exports 1854-57 Crimean War provides boom for U.S. agricultural exports, especially wheat 1860-69 Agricultural exports: $182 million/year or 75% of total exports 1865-80 Wheat exports increase sharply 1870-79 Agricultural exports: $453 million/year or 79% of total exports 1871 Horace Capron mission to develop Japanese agriculture 1880-89 Agricultural exports: $574 million/year or 76% of total exports 1890-99 Agricultural exports: $703 million/year or 71% of total exports 1890 McKinley Tariff includes many agricultural commodities 1900-09 Agricultural exports: $917 million/year or 58% of total exports 1905 International Institute of Agriculture established 1910-19 Agricultural exports: $1.9 billion/year or 45% of total exports 1913 USDA's Office of Markets established to promote farm marketing 1920-29 Agricultural exports: $1.94 billion/year or 42% of total exports 1921-22 Tariff acts raise rates for agricultural and other imports 1930-39 Agricultural exports: $765 million/year or 32% of total exports 1930 Hawley-Smoot tariff raises rates to prohibitive levels, prompting retaliation from other countries 1939 Technical agricultural collaboration with South American countries 1940-49 Agricultural exports: $2.42 billion/year or 22% of total exports 1940-46 Overseas assistance during wartime emergency 1945 United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration established 1945 Food and Agriculture Organization of the Untied Nations established 1946 International Emergency Food Council established 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) establishes working procedures that have substantially reduced tariffs between member nations 1948 Foreign Assistance Act provides for European Recovery Program 1949 International Wheat Program 1950-59 Agricultural exports: $3.53 billion/year or 22% of total exports 1954 Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act (Food for Peace) 1960-69 Agricultural exports: $5.76 billion/year or 22.9% of total exports 1964 Trade Expansion Act 1970-79 Agricultural exports: $19.8 billion/year or 19% of total exports 1971 Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research organized to fund regional research institutes in developing countries 1972 I ncreased exports to Soviet Union and elsewhere absorb agricultural surpluses, especially of grains and oilseeds 1979 Grain embargo against the Soviet Union following its invasion of Afghanistan 1980-89 Agricultural exports: $35.6 billion/year or 15% of total exports 1980s European grain and animal exports become more competitive with U.S. products 1981 U.S. agricultural exports peak at $43.8 billion, then decline until 1987; President Reagan lifts the grain embargo against the Soviet Union 1988 The U.S.-Canada trade accord initiates free trade in all commodities 1990 One farmer supplies 100 persons (est.) 1990s Information technology and precision techniques increasingly used in agriculture   Next Category >>
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