By the late 1920s, however, the respectable parties of the centre right were struggling to maintain their support in agrarian circles, as the German farming community became progressively radicalized by the worldwide collapse in commodity prices.104 As a result, the farm lobby began demanding not only increased protection and relief from its debts, but a fundamental reorientation in German trade policy. Since tariffs had not proved effective in keeping out low-priced competition, the agrarians now demanded the introduction of specific quotas with which to restrict the import of key
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