The aim of this book, first published in 1939, is to provide a comprehensive description of the protectionist system that had been in force in Britain since 1931. It explains the principles and difficulties involved in framing and administering a customs and excise tariff, which has both revenue and political purposes. The problems of tariff negotiating are discussed, and trade agreements made are summarized.

The interaction of the domestic actors' preferences, given their political institutions and levels of information, defines when international cooperation is possible and what its terms will be. Several test cases examine how this argument explains the phases of a cooperative attempt: the initiation, the negotiations at the international level, and the eventual domestic ratification.