Henry Clay's American System attempted to protect American businesses from foreign competition and to increase trade within the United States through all of the following measures EXCEPT

The American System was an economic program proposed in Congress by Henry Clay and supported by the Whig Party. It was a clearly protectionist plan, arising as a result of the War of 1812 and the isolation that this conflict produced from European markets, which were largely controlled by Great Britain. Thus, during this period America began to develop its internal industry and to generate the conditions that would allow it to become a self-sufficient nation in the early 1900s.

This plan was based on three fundamental premises. On the one hand, it sought to increase tariffs on imports to favor and promote national production, both agricultural and industrial; Furthermore, it sought to develop the nation's infrastructure so that it collaborates with the development of productive activities (creation of roads, railways, ports, etc.); and finally, the creation of a centralized monetary system, by means of which the federal government could control monetary and financial policies and thus contribute to the nation's economic development.