Protection from import competition was a defining feature of the birth of the Australian federation in 1901. For the next 70 years, the extent of protection grew, and broadened from mainly tariffs to also involving import licencing after World War II. There was a one‐off 25% across‐the‐board cut in tariffs in 1973 and some dismantling of agricultural subsidies, but that was followed by the re‐imposition of import quotas for the most‐protected manufactured goods. Then in the mid‐1980s, a new reformist government began a long process of dismantling all protection as part of an overall economic reform program that also involved de‐regulation, privatization and moving to a flexible exchange rate. The rewards included three decades of faster economic growth and an unprecedented rise in Australians’ living standards. This paper provides a history of economic thought on the pros and cons of protectionism for the small, distant, natural resource‐rich Australian economy and a survey of the literature on the extent, effects and political economy reasons behind the growth of Australian protection and its eventual dismantling.

中文翻译：

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澳大利亚的贸易保护主义：其发展与解体

保护免受进口竞争是澳大利亚联邦于1901年诞生的标志性特征。在随后的70年中，保护的范围不断扩大，并从主要关税扩大到第二次世界大战后还涉及进口许可证。1973年全面削减了25％的关税，并取消了一些农业补贴，但随后又对受保护程度最高的制成品重新设置了进口配额。然后在1980年代中期，新的改革派政府开始了漫长的拆除所有保护措施的过程，这是整个经济改革计划的一部分，该计划还涉及放松管制，私有化和转向灵活的汇率。奖励包括经济增长更快的三十年和澳大利亚人生活水平的空前提高。