Boterwet

The Boterwet (Dutch for "Butter Act") was a Dutch law passed in 1931 designed to support the agricultural sector during the Great Depression, specifically the dairy industry. The law's primary goal was to stabilize butter prices by regulating its production and trade. It involved measures such as export subsidies, import levies, and production quotas to control the supply of butter and prevent prices from collapsing due to overproduction or foreign competition. The Boterwet was controversial, with critics arguing that it artificially inflated prices for consumers and favored dairy farmers at the expense of other economic sectors. While intended as a temporary measure to address the economic crisis, similar agricultural market intervention policies continued to be implemented in the Netherlands after World War II, evolving into the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union. The Boterwet serves as a historical example of government intervention in agricultural markets during times of economic hardship.