doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com The history of 19th C. gun tariffs??

Hi Guys,

I would be grateful if someone could give me the dates of when the USA imposed (heavy?) tariffs on imported shotguns from England and Belgium.

From reading other posts over the years I thought it was about 1895 or so, but have no proof, or how long they lasted for. Did this trigger (pun intended) the starting-up of local companies?

Historic Bore

Chase McKinley Tariff Act of 1890. Charles Daly found a novel way around them; rough bored tubes....

Serbus,

Raimey
rse

1892 SD&G imported stocks & action, someone else imported the barrels, with the intention of reassembling the complete breechloading double shotgun for sale
https://books.google.com/books?id=BwUfVQLNsnkC&pg=PA24&lpg

Tariff testimony in 1894 from Baker Guns & Forging, Hunter Arms Co., Ithaca Gun Co., S.D.&G., Smith & Wesson
In 1894 “Sporting, breech-loading double-barrel shotguns” had a 35% ad valorem PLUS an import duty of $1.50 if priced less than $6, $4 if $6-$12, and $6 if priced greater than $12. “Single-barrel breech-loading shot-guns” had the same 35% ad valorem PLUS an import duty of $1.

1896 testimony by Thomas Hunter and George Livermore (Ithaca Gun Co.)
http://books.google.com/books?id=WOouAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA384&dq

The Tariff Review October 15, 1897
http://books.google.com/books?id=xngpAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA202&dq
I heard a prominent hardware merchant make the statement. In very positive terms, that we do not manufacture gun barrels in this country. He is a Democrat and, of course, opposed to any Tariff for Protection. Can you give me the data on this?

J. H. Bateman, Editor, the “State Sentinel.” Dover, DEL.. September 28,1897.
We suppose that the gentleman making the statement that no gun barrels are made in this country referred to barrels made of iron and steel, such as twist, laminated and Damascus. If so, he was correct, for no barrels of that nature are made at the present time in this country. Gun barrels, however, are made very extensively here, but they are made from plain Bessemer metal, the same as is used in rifle barrels, and are used in the manufacture of single guns and the cheaper grade of double guns.
We believe there is not an establishment or a dollar invested in this country for the making of figured gun barrels. These barrels used to pay a duty of 45 percent, ad valorem, but several years ago, through the influence, we believe, of The Colt Patent Fire Arms Co. of Hartford, Conn, the duty was reduced to 10 per cent., and so remained until the passage of the McKinley bill, when they were placed on the free list.

The tariffs were not well received by Americans who suffered a steep increase in prices. In the 1890 election, Republicans lost their majority in the House with the number of seats they won reduced by nearly half, from 171 to 88. In the 1892 presidential election election, Harrison was soundly defeated by Grover Cleveland, and the Senate, House, and Presidency were all under Democratic control. Of course, you need to be able to read in order to know history.

Later things did not end up well for McKinley, but they did end up well for one of my "heroes" Teddy.

Stephen Howell

The McKinley Tariff Act of 1890 raised import duties to an average of 50%. In the 1890 midterm elections McKinley lost his seat in the House. The McKinley Tariff was repealed by the Democrats in 1894, but some tariffs remained in place and Cleveland refused to sign the law. In the midterm elections of 1894 the Republicans recaptured control of both houses of Congress because of the ongoing economic depression and agrarian revolt.

Theodore Roosevelt and President McKinley at the Blue Tanks, Congress, AZ May 7, 1901 while visiting the Congress Gold Mine



September 14, 1901 Roosevelt became the 26th president of the United States

So say that the import price of a British shotgun was $20.00.

With the tariff at an extra 35% that made it another $7.00, plus the flat rate levy of $6.00, totalling $33.00.

Or in today's money a $2,000.00 shotgun overnight would cost $3,300.00 - ouch! So an extra 10% on your pair of Purdeys tomorrow doesn't sound so bad.
But Berettas and Brownings will be much more I suppose. Not sure if all these tariffs will apply to secondhand items - we will see.

HB

The United States Revenue Act of 1913, also known as the Underwood Tariff or Underwood-Simmons Act re-imposed the federal income tax and lowered the basic tariff rates from 40% to 25%, well below that of the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909. The 1913 Act established the lowest rates since the Walker Tariff of 1857. Most schedules were put on an ad valorem basis (a % of the dollar value of the item.)
The duty on woolens went from 56% to 18.5%. Steel rails, raw wool, iron ore, and agricultural implements had zero rates.
The Act changed the duty for “Sporting, breech-loading double-barrel shotguns” to 15% ad valorem.

I spoke to my broker today and was told the tariffs will indeed apply to used guns, UK 10%, EU 20%, NZ 10%, SA 30%, 10% on AU, these are just the countries that I have recently imported from. This is not going to be pretty folks.

Any idea of what bearing it will have on Ammo?

Serbus,

Raimey
rse

So tell us Princess Monkey Stevie, what are your thoughts on paying the $12.00 Tariff or fee that Dave Weber requests for using his DoubleGunShop website to sell things?

Do you think it applies to the services and business ventures you sell here via your Free Tagline Advertising? Do you pay Dave that $12.00 fee or Tariff for each and every successful sale resulting from your continual Free Advertising?

Personally, I'm willing to accept some temporary price increases to give Trump's new Tariffs a chance to bring back manufacturing jobs, and help reduce our debt and foreign trade deficit. I believe it will make us more prosperous and self-sufficient in the long run. It hasn't been pretty to see once thriving factories that are now empty shells due to decades of Tariffs imposed on U.S. goods, unfair trade practices, and foreign dumping. Then we sustained the ultimate insult of having so many Billions of our tax dollars wasted on importing Illegal Aliens and Woke Leftist nonsense. It's funny to see all of the Libtards here whining about Trump's Tariffs, when you all remain totally silent about Biden's Inflation that eroded the buying power of every dollar we have earned or saved by roughly 25%. That has certainly had a negative effect upon gun and ammo prices. And how about the massive amount it will cost to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, that was drained by Biden & Co. for purely political purposes? If Trump had done that, you and your fellow Democrats and closet Democrats that call They/Themselves "Independent Moderates" would never stop howling.