Free Trade
Preserved but no longer current.
The system by which goods are allowed to enter one country from another country without paying customs duty for the protection of home producers. For many years it was held that the prosperity of Britain depended upon leaving the ports open to the shipping and goods of all the world. In 1932 Great Britain abandoned Free Trade by imposing a general tariff on imported goods.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Free Trade” mean?
The system by which goods are allowed to enter one country from another country without paying customs duty for the protection of home producers. For many years it was held that the prosperity of Britain depended upon leaving the ports open to the shipping and goods of all the world. In 1932 Great Britain abandoned Free Trade by imposing a general tariff on imported goods.
Is “Free Trade” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.