Protective tariff policy
The protectionist measures introduced by Otto von Bismarck since 1877 to protect the economy of the German Reich are referred to as protective tariff policy .
The reasons for this were the economic crisis that began in 1873 , the British industrial competition and the import of cheaper Russian and American grain. This led to sharp criticism of the free trade that had been carried out up to now .
background
The victory over France and the establishment of an empire in 1871 gave industrialization an enormous boost. Even before the founding of the empire, economic life could be stimulated with the establishment of the North German Confederation , the establishment of a commercial court with seat in Leipzig, a liberal trade regulation and the joint implementation of the customs administration. The enthusiasm that set in as a result of the establishment of the empire, combined with the 5 billion gold francs that France had to pay as reparations for the Franco-German War from 1870 to 1871, triggered a demand and investment boom. Finally, new joint stock companies were founded .
But due to over-indebtedness and over-capacity, there was ultimately the founder crash of 1873, which is characterized by bankruptcies, unemployment and falling prices. The lobbyism that emerged in the 1870s played a role in this context, as the Association of German Iron and Steel Industrialists and the Central Association of German Industrialists soon demanded protectionist measures to protect industry and influenced public opinion as well as that of the conservative members of the Reichstag .
In addition, the East Elbe landowners and grain producers had to struggle with Russian and American competition. For as long as there was an excess of cheap grain in Germany, imports were not to be feared. But now the population could no longer be supplied from local production. Therefore, in turning away from its liberal stance , the state was forced to introduce protective tariffs.
Protective tariff policy
In the summer of 1877 the "Schutzzöllner" had made multiple petitions to the Prussian and German governments to introduce tariffs. For Bismarck, the introduction of tariffs to protect German industry and agriculture was also advantageous, since tariffs would flow into the Reich treasury and thus more money would be available to him as Reich Chancellor and he would have less from the matricular contributions of the federal states for the Reich budget or from Reichstag would be dependent on funds to be approved. To this end, in 1877 he formed his own finance department in the Reich Chancellery and in 1879 the Reich Treasury (Reich Ministry of Finance).
In February 1878, both the Central Association of German Industrialists and the Congress of German Farmers held their general assemblies in Berlin, with the Congress of Farmers also adopting the 'Lohren's Customs Tariff Draft' from the Central Association of Industrialists, which, at Bismarck's suggestion, also contained agricultural tariffs Lohrensche draft tariff was sent to members of the Reichstag and high officials. Bismarck had demonstratively sent his head of the Reich Chancellery, Christoph von Tiedemann , to the general assembly of the industrialists and thus made clear his support for the tariff plans.
Bismarck immediately put the tax reform up for debate in the Reichstag and, at the same time, brought the Prussian enqueue motion to the Bundesrat . Should the protective tariffs not get through in the Reichstag, Bismarck had already planned a second variant in February 1878. He said: “If the tax laws in the Reichstag fall, he will develop his program to the Kaiser , who is inclined to protect himself , and, if necessary, put the cabinet question. Perhaps one will then have to proceed to dissolve the Reichstag. "
Finally, on January 3, 1879, the tariff deliberations of the Federal Council and the Reichstag began on the basis of Lohren's draft tariff. On July 12, 1879, the Reichstag approved the introduction of a protective tariff and an increase in the tobacco tax. With the help of the conservatives and the Center Party , which had just been opposed , Bismarck succeeded in enforcing protective tariffs on grain, wood, iron and cattle to support domestic prices. Apart from that, protective tariffs were placed on luxury goods such as tobacco, tea and coffee. In this way, Bismarck tried to generate direct income for the Reich and to make it financially more independent from the Reichstag.
But the federalist Center Party was able to prevent this successfully by achieving through the Franckenstein clause that the Reich had to share the new tariff income with the federal states.
consequences
As part of the introduction of protective tariffs, Bismarck's alliance broke up with the National Liberals , which were severely weakened by the Reichstag election in 1878 , and they then split. First, a right wing split off in 1879. A year later, the Liberal Association emerged from the left wing and tried to fight against the conservative turnaround. Furthermore, the empire was still financially dependent on the states. Therefore, during these years Bismarck occasionally expressed the idea of making the Reichstag more docile or at least changing the electoral process so that it would be more docile.
In the longer term, the protective tariff policy promoted the economic development of the German Empire. At the same time, however, prices rose without real wages increasing. The purchasing power of wages only gradually rose again from 1883, which also resulted in a decrease in the emigration quota.
In addition, due to the weak domestic market, German industry became increasingly dependent on foreign countries. This in turn restricted the political room for maneuver.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Editor Helmut Böhme: Problems of the time of the establishment of the Reich 1848-1879 , Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne / Berlin 1968, fifth part: Helmut Böhme: Bismarck's protective tariff policy and the consolidation of the conservative state, pages 331-348.
- ↑ Editor Helmut Böhme: Problems of the time when the Reich was founded 1848-1879 , Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne / Berlin 1968, Part Five: Helmut Böhme: Bismarck's protective tariff policy and the consolidation of the conservative state, page 339.
- ↑ Heinrich August Winkler , The long way to the west , Vol. 1: German history from the end of the Old Empire to the fall of the Weimar Republic. CH Beck, Munich 2000, p. 243.
literature
- Josef Gruntzel : Theory of international trade. Free trade or protective tariffs . Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky, Vienna 1924.
- Andreas Rose: Otto von Bismarck and the (foreign) political means of trade and protective tariff policy. In: Ulrich von Hehl (ed.): Otto von Bismarck and the economy. Schöningh, Paderborn u. a. 2013, ISBN 978-3-506-77714-0 , pp. 77-96.