In 1964 the new US president was angry about European trade. Specifically about chickens. In response to Europe’s poultry trade barriers, Lyndon B Johnson imposed a 25% tariff on light trucks.
That “chicken tax” is still in place 60 years later. The rules have contributed to the Ford’s F-Series pickup truck’s unbroken 42-year run as the bestselling vehicle in the US, and have locked European manufacturers out of a hugely profitable market for two generations. The chicken tax could also serve as a model for Donald Trump’s second term in the White House.
