“In practice almost no tariffs were collected; the total customs revenue collected was about $3.3 million (Confederate dollars), from 1861 through 1864. [Historical Statistics (2006) series Eh201]”
So yeah, if you don’t collect tariffs then yes importers save money. Hard to run a government with no revenue though. The CSA was always a clown show.
“In practice almost no tariffs were collected; the total customs revenue collected was about $3.3 million (Confederate dollars), from 1861 through 1864. [Historical Statistics (2006) series Eh201]” Yes, having a massive fleet of warships throwing up a blockade around all your ports tends to discourage any import traffic.
Are you being serious? Are you trying to compare revenue collection on imports during a state of war with revenue collection on imports during a time of peace?
Without the war preventing shipping from getting to the South, the south would have eaten the north's revenue streams.
An Independent Southern coalition was a major financial threat to the then existing monied power structure of the North East.