<P> Britain persisted in its free trade policy even as its major rivals, the U.S. and Germany, turned to high tariffs (as did Canada). American heavy industry grew faster than Britain, and by the 1890s was crowding British machinery and other products out of the world market . </P> <P> New business practices in the areas of management and accounting made possible the more efficient operation of large companies . For example, in steel, coal, and iron companies 19th - century accountants utilized sophisticated, fully integrated accounting systems to calculate output, yields, and costs to satisfy management information requirements . South Durham Steel and Iron, was a large horizontally integrated company that operated mines, mills, and shipyards . Its management used traditional accounting methods with the goal of minimizing production costs, and thus raising its profitability . By contrast one of its competitors, Cargo Fleet Iron introduced mass production milling techniques through the construction of modern plants . Cargo Fleet set high production goals and developed an innovative but complicated accounting system to measure and report all costs throughout the production process . However, problems in obtaining coal supplies and the failure to meet the firm's production goals forced Cargo Fleet to drop its aggressive system and return to the sort of approach South Durham Steel was using . </P> <P> The American "invasion" of the British home market demanded a response . Tariffs, although increasingly under consideration, were not imposed until the 1930s . Therefore, British businessmen were obliged to lose their market or else rethink and modernize their operations . The boot and shoe industry faced increasing imports of American footwear; Americans took over the market for shoe machinery . British companies realized they had to meet the competition so they re-examine their traditional methods of work, labour utilization, and industrial relations, and to rethink how to market footwear in terms of the demand for fashion . </P> <P> After the loss of the American colonies in 1776, Britain built a "Second British Empire", based in colonies in India, Asia, Australia, Canada . The crown jewel was India, where in the 1750s a private British company, with its own army, the East India Company (or "John Company"), took control of parts of India . The 19th century saw Company rule extended across India after expelling the Dutch, French and Portuguese . By the 1830s the Company was a government and had given up most of its business in India, but it was still privately owned . Following the Indian Rebellion of 1857 the government closed down the Company and took control of British India and the Company's Presidency Armies . </P>

What was the main result of british economic policies