Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act

The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 was a hastened attempt to fight the Great Depression. Advocated by Willis Hawley, an Oregon congressman, and Reed Smoot, a Utah senator, the act increased 900 American import duties. The act actually furthered the Great Depression. Even though it at first focused on only agricultural tariff level increase, more and more products were piled on and the bill turned into the second highest tariff increase bill. On June 16, 1930, the bill was signed.

The stock market crashed eight months after the tariff was put into effect from overproduction. This paralleled in the industries, as consumers cut down incredibly on spending by 10 percent, as their money fell away due to the stock market crash. Both of these were catalyzed by the tariff act.

In the middle of 1930, economists listed grievances and pleaded Hoover to veto the bill, because the tariff not only was raising the survival cost, but also limited exports and stretched foreign relations. The American exports decreased by 1 billion dollars in just Europe, and decreased by 66% globally. Soon enough, the reduction of American exports increased unemployment by 5.2%.

Though the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 was not the cause of the Great Depression, it was a catalyst to it and poisoned the health of the country.


(Smoot and Hawley)

Sources:
http://capitalism.org/free-trade/what-was-the-end-result-of-the-smoot-hawley-tariff-act/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot%E2%80%93Hawley_Tariff_Act
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Smoot-Hawley-Tariff-Act
http://americastradepolicy.com/did-the-smoot-hawley-tariff-cause-the-great-depression/
https://fee.org/articles/the-smoot-hawley-tariff-and-the-great-depression/