[3][4] In the late 1800s and especially during the early 1900s, Imperial Preference was considered a method of promoting unity within the British Empire and sustaining Britain's position as a global power as a response to increased competition from the protectionist Germany and United States.
[5][page needed][3] The idea was associated particularly with Joseph Chamberlain, who resigned from the government of Arthur Balfour in September 1903 in order to be free to campaign for Tariff Reform.
Unfortunately for Beaverbrook, Bonar Law preferred Lord Derby and his fear of opposition to a policy of extra-mural Food Tax, and Beaverbrook was unable to adapt his scheme,[6] perhaps because of the economics:[7] For at that time there could be no advantage to the Dominions unless Empire food was admitted to Britain tax free—and Britain imported more than half of her consumption of food.Law died in office before his first year in power was complete, and was succeeded by Stanley Baldwin, who was a tepid supporter of the scheme.
In 1932, representatives of Britain, the Dominions, and the Colonies held the Commonwealth Conference on Economic Consultation and Co-operation in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
[9] The Italian Empire, Spain, Portugal, France, Japan, and the United States all had varying degrees of preference between their mainland and their colonies.