Question: the united states imports more goods and services than any other country from

title: Foreign trade of the United States
text: According to Paul Bairoch , since the end of the 18th century , the United States has been `` the homeland and bastion of modern protectionism '' . In fact , the United States never adhered to free trade until 1945 . A very protectionist policy was adopted as soon as the presidency of George Washington by Alexander Hamilton , the first US Secretary of the Treasury from 1789 to 1795 and author of the text Report on Manufactures which called for customs barriers to allow American industrial development and to help protect infant industries , including bounties ( subsidies ) derived in part from those tariffs . This text was one of the references of the German economist Friedrich List ( 1789 -- 1846 ) . The United States has become the main opposition to free trade and this policy remained throughout the 19th century and the overall level of tariffs was very high ( close to 50 % in 1830 ) . The victory of the protectionist states of the North over the free trade southern states at the end of the Civil War ( 1861 -- 1865 ) perpetuated this trend , even during periods of free trade in Europe ( 1860 -- 1880 ) .