That's part of it. Under the Tea Act of 1773, the tax collected on tea imported into London would be refunded once it arrived in British North America. Colonial importers of Dutch tea, i.e., smuggled tea, would likely be cut out of the lucrative tea trade, and the contracts for importing East India Co. (EIC) tea would all go to loyalist merchants who supported British rule. The colonists living in North America were also well aware of the three-year famine in India, which was essentially ruled by the EIC. They feared they too would suffer a similar fate if East India Co. was allowed free access to the North American market.