Arancel y poder: recaudar, proteger, presionar

This article examines tariffs as instruments of trade policy and as a language of political power. From an economic anthropology perspective, it explores how tariffs acquire social meaning through narratives of protection, sovereignty and grievance, while influencing negotiations and distributing costs unevenly across sectors.

The discussion combines a brief historical and semantic account of tariffs with an analysis of their contemporary geoeconomic role. Drawing on the anthropology of public policy, moral economy and symbolic boundaries, it considers how tariff announcements shape expectations and business decisions before measures are formally implemented. Two sectoral examples—Spanish agri-food exports and the automotive supply chain—illustrate different forms of exposure, uncertainty and adjustment.

The article also examines potential tensions between recurring tariff-based pressure and democratic accountability. It discusses executive decision-making, the transparency of negotiations and selective exemptions, situating these issues within debates on economic interdependence and multilateral dispute settlement.

Rather than treating tariffs as inherently incompatible with democracy, the article asks under what conditions their use as a governing method may weaken deliberation and public oversight. Its conclusions identify plausible mechanisms and the limits of a documentary analysis, without claiming to establish a causal relationship between tariff policy and democratic deterioration.

Independent academic essay. This deposit does not constitute a peer-reviewed journal publication.