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Corn Laws

Definition

The Corn Laws were a series of British laws in the 19th century that imposed high tariffs (taxes) on imported grain, particularly corn (wheat). These laws were implemented to protect British farmers from foreign competition.

Analogy

Imagine you have your own lemonade stand and you charge $5 for a glass of lemonade. But then, another lemonade stand opens across the street and charges only $2 for the same-sized glass. To compete, you decide to lower your price to $3. This is similar to what happened with Britain's Corn Laws - they imposed high tariffs on imported corn to encourage people to buy British-grown corn instead.

Related terms

Tariffs: These are taxes or duties imposed on goods that are being imported or exported between countries.

Protectionism: This refers to government policies that aim to protect domestic industries by imposing barriers such as tariffs or quotas on imports.

Free Trade: This is an economic policy where there are no barriers or restrictions like tariffs or quotas on international trade.