The Tea Act of 1773 allowed the British East India Company to ship tea directly to North America.
Parliament passed the Tea Act on May 10, 1773, to help the financially troubled company sell its large tea surplus. The law removed some commercial barriers by allowing the company to export tea directly to the colonies and sell it through appointed consignees. The existing Townshend duty on tea remained in force.
Although the act could make company tea cheaper than some smuggled tea, many colonists opposed it because they saw the measure as reinforcing Parliament's power to tax them without colonial representation. Merchants also feared the company's privileged position would undermine their trade.
Resistance to the Tea Act culminated in the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773, when colonists dumped tea from three ships into Boston Harbor. Parliament responded with the Coercive Acts, which intensified colonial resistance and contributed to the crisis that produced war. The Tea Act itself is therefore distinct from the later punitive laws.