nonimportation

[ non-im-pawr-tey-shuhn, -pohr- ]

noun

1. failure or refusal to import.

Word History and Origins

Origin of nonimportation¹

An Americanism dating back to 1760–70; non- + importation

Example Sentences

And so Jefferson responded with a lengthy treatise on the merits of domestic manufacturing and grand memories of the nonimportation movement in the 1760s, only to discover that Adams had intended the homespun reference as a metaphor.

From Literature

In 1776, for example, when the Continental Congress voted to repeal the nonimportation agreement of 1774, it chose to retain its prohibition against the importation of African slaves, a clear statement of opposition to the resumption of the slave trade.

From Literature

In 1774, the Continental Congress of rebelling American states adopted a temporary general nonimportation policy against Britain and its possessions, effectively halting the slave trade, although the policy lapsed under the Confederation Congress in the wake of the Revolutionary War.

From New York Times

I did not understand the nonimportation compacts which my countrymen in their anger had raised against English products.

From Literature

Some had fled the city; others, remaining, were sunk in an uncharacteristic despair, their trade irreparably harmed first by their investment in interdicted Indian lands, second by their participation in nonimportation agreements, and thirdly, by the punitive closing of the Harbor by Parliamentary decree.

From Literature