Salutary neglect was the British enforcement policy of ignoring certain trade laws. This policy benefited the colonies by allowing a trade system to develop.

The root cause of salutary neglect was that it was simply too difficult to enforce these trade laws nearly 3,000 miles away. There was no agency in colonial America to monitor the trade policies, and it was extremely expensive to even attempt it. Therefore, the British felt that it would be more beneficial to them, and to loyalty of the colonies, to ignore it.

The major benefit was that the colonies were able to trade more freely and without interference. This allowed each colony to develop an economy and also allowed the British to receive profits from the sales of natural resources.