[ninenot]

Yes, they do predate Bush, by decades.

Just a wild guess: was it Carnegie or Rockefeller who inserted this provision?

[neutrino]

I wouldn't dispute the point, but the article gives no indication...

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

"Just a wild guess: was it Carnegie or Rockefeller who inserted this provision?"

I sure couldn't tell you. Back then, in the 19-teens, it's perhaps more likely that someone from Dole (Bananas) who had extensive plantations in S. America lobbied for such a provision; if indeed the provision was lobbied for in the first place. As far as I recall, both Carnegie and Rockefeller & their conglomerates (steel & oil) were pretty much domestically-based.

Such provisions IMO actually make a fair amount of sense. It's just that when internet-enabled corporate America runs amok with them, we have the results we have now.