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In Hawaii, the government became concerned that the subsequent United States Tariff Act of March 3, 1883, which lowered sugar tariffs imposed on product imported from all nations, had left them at a disadvantage. Article IV of the reciprocity treaty prevented Hawaii from making reciprocity treaties with other nations.
The industry was tightly controlled by descendants of missionary families and other businessmen, concentrated in corporations known in Hawaiʻi as "The Big Five". [2] These included Castle & Cooke, Alexander & Baldwin, C. Brewer & Co., H. Hackfeld & Co. (later named American Factors (now Amfac)) and Theo H. Davies & Co., [11] which together eventually gained control over other aspects of the ...
After the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 removed tariffs on sugar exports to the United States, he operated a sugar mill from 1876 to 1889. Since he did not have the large cash investments of planters on other islands, only about 30 acres (12 ha) of sugarcane were cultivated, and the mill was built with older 1850s technology.
The monarch wished to lower the tariffs being paid out to the U.S. while still maintaining the Kingdom's sovereignty and making Hawaiian sugar competitive with other foreign markets. In 1854 Kamehameha III proposed a policy of reciprocity between the countries but the proposal died in the U.S. Senate. [18]
In 1890, the United States enacted the McKinley Tariff; the new law sharply raised the country's import tariffs, ending the Hawaiian sugar industry's dominance in the North American market and depressing prices, pushing Hawaii into turmoil. [2] [3]
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The treaty's most immediate result was an increase in new United States plantation owners. San Francisco sugar refiner Claus Spreckels became a prime investor in Hawaii's sugar industry. [101] Over the term of Kalākaua's reign, the treaty had a major effect on the kingdom's income. In 1874, Hawaii exported $1,839,620.27 in products.
"In essence, this money has been stolen from all of us for all these years," said an 84-year-old woman whose late husband's Social Security benefits were slashed. "It's not fair."