Chapter XI: Who’s “Protected” by Tariffs? – A tariff does the exact opposite of providing employment, raising wages, or protecting the American standard of living. A tariff can be a means of benefiting the producer at the expense of the consumer. However, those who favor tariffs only think of the interests of the producers immediately benefitted by the particular duties involved. They forget the interests of the consumers who are immediately injured by being forced to pay these duties. Tariffs help the protected producers at the expense of all other American producers, and particularly of those who have a comparatively large potential export market. The effect of a tariff, therefore, is to change the structure of American production. In the
