The Empire Marketing Board, 1926-33: Britain’s failed attempt at soft trade policy

a column by David M. Higgins and Brian Varian for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Britain tried to reorient its trade towards the Empire via an advertising campaign led by the Empire Marketing Board.

As this column shows, in economic terms, the initiative was a complete failure, producing no increase in the Empire’s share of Britain’s imports.

Imperial sentiment conflicted with economic reality: Britain was the biggest global importer of produce from the late 19th century to the interwar period, and the EMB’s activities were constrained by entrenched consumer preferences for non-Empire foodstuffs, such as Argentine beef and Danish butter.

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