Asia - America Business/Trade on a solid foundation

Established inter-depence:  U.S. trade with Asia grew rapidly in volume, significance, and complexity in the last quarter of the twentieth century, affecting what America produced and what it imported. American  companies have been key articipants in exploration, production, and trade of Middle Eastern and Southwest Asian oil.
Free trade with foreign nations was one of the key principles of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Merchants of the newly formed United States looked to Asia for business. China constituted a major opportunity, as many other Asian countries had become European colonies. Of the colonial powers, only the Netherlands agreed to sign a most-favorednation treaty with the United States in 1782. This treaty also covered Dutch Southeast Asian possessions. 
 America's trade with China was especially lucrative. In 1789, Congress passed the first Tariff Act, levying a duty of 10 percent on imported chinaware, as porcelain was called. Average duties were only 8.5 percent, indicating that the young nation sought to maximize public revenue from the Asia trade.