The Free Trade Union, later known as the Free Trade League, was a British trade organization extant between July 1903 and the 1970s. It was founded in response to the campaign for empire preference which had been launched by Board of Trade chairman Joseph Chamberlain

Joseph Chamberlain

Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....

 in May 1903. This scheme was intended to promote trade preferentially with British imperial possessions by imposing tariffs on certain classes of goods imported from outside the ‘preference’ zone. Its president between 1948 and 1959 was Andrew McFadyean

Andrew McFadyean

Sir Andrew McFadyean was a British diplomat, economist, Treasury official, businessman and Liberal politician, publicist and philosopher...

.