Smoot-Hawley Tariff Timeline

(1929 - 1934)

The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, signed into law in June 1930, raised U.S. import duties on over 20,000 goods to historically high levels. Intended to protect American farmers and manufacturers during the early Great Depression, it instead triggered retaliatory tariffs from foreign nations, causing a sharp collapse in international trade and worsening the global economic crisis. The timeline covers the act's origins, passage, immediate consequences, and eventual reversal through later trade liberalization efforts. More Less

Go to: Timeline | Event List | Key Facts | Directory

Origins and Passage

League of Nations World Economic Conference in Geneva

1927

In 1927, the League of Nations held a World Economic Conference in Geneva, addressing global trade issues in the years leading up to the Great Depression.

Image source: Geneva World Economic Conference (1927)

France enacts new tariff law and quota system

1928

In 1928, France became the first country to enact a new tariff law and quota system, signaling a rising wave of protectionism ahead of the Smoot–Hawley Tariff.

Image source: Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act

Hoover promises higher agricultural tariffs in 1928 campaign

1928

During the 1928 United States presidential election, one of Herbert Hoover's campaign promises was to help beleaguered farmers by increasing tariffs on agricultural products. Hoover won, and Republicans maintained comfortable majorities in the House and the Senate.

Image source: Herbert Hoover

Smoot champions tariff increase bill

1929

In 1929, Senator Reed Smoot championed another tariff increase within the United States, which became the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Bill.

House passes tariff act version

May 1929

The House of Representatives passed a version of the act in May 1929, increasing tariffs on agricultural and industrial goods. As it passed, boycotts broke out and foreign governments moved to increase rates against American products.

Senate debates tariff bill until March 1930

May 1929 - Mar 1930

The Senate debated its bill until March 1930, with many members trading votes based on industries in their states.

Image source: United States Senate

Great Depression begins

Oct 1929

The Great Depression started in October 1929. In late 1929, as the global economy entered its first stages, the main policy goal of the United States federal government was to protect its jobs and farmers from foreign competition.

Image source: Great Depression

1,028 economists petition Hoover to veto the bill

May 1930

In May 1930, a petition was signed by 1,028 economists in the United States asking President Hoover to veto the legislation; it was ultimately signed by over 1,250 economists.

Hoover signs the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act into law

Jun 17, 1930

The Tariff Act of 1930, also known as the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act, was a protectionist trade measure signed into law by President Herbert Hoover on June 17, 1930. The act raised tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods to shield American industries from foreign competition during the onset of the Great Depression.

Retaliation and Economic Impact

US imports and exports collapse

1929 - 1933

US imports decreased 66% from $4.4 billion (1929) to $1.5 billion (1933), and exports decreased 61% from $5.4 billion to $2.1 billion. Imports from Europe fell from $1.3 billion in 1929 to $390 million in 1932, while exports to Europe fell from $2.3 billion to $784 million. Overall, world trade decreased by some 66% between 1929 and 1934, and US gross national product fell from $103.1 billion in 1929 to $55.6 billion in 1933.

Hoover receives protest notes from 23 trading partners

Sep 1929

By September 1929, Hoover's administration had received protest notes from 23 trading partners, but the threats of retaliatory actions were ignored.

Unemployment rises despite new tariffs

1930 - 1933

Unemployment was 8% in 1930 when the Smoot–Hawley Act was passed, but the new law failed to lower it. The rate jumped to 16% in 1931 and to 25% in 1932–1933.

Canada imposes new tariffs on 16 US products

May 1930

In May 1930, Canada, the most loyal U.S. trading partner, took action by imposing new tariffs on 16 products which accounted for approximately 30% of U.S. exports to Canada. Later, Canada forged closer economic links with the British Empire via the British Empire Economic Conference of 1932.

Image source: Canada–United States relations

Failure of Creditanstalt exposes global tariff deficiencies

1931

When the Creditanstalt bank of Austria failed in 1931, the global deficiencies of the Smoot–Hawley Tariff became apparent, deepening the international financial crisis.

Image source: Creditanstalt

Dutiable tariff rate peaks at 59.1%

1932

According to the Bureau of the Census, the dutiable tariff rate peak of 1932 was 59.1%, second only to the 61.7% rate of 1830. However, 63% of all imports in 1933 were not taxed, which the dutiable rate does not reflect. The free and dutiable rate peaked in 1933 at 19.8%, one-third below the average 29.7% rate from 1821 to 1900.

American Tariff League Study compares 43 countries

1951

The American Tariff League Study of 1951 compared the free and dutiable tariff rates of 43 countries, demonstrating that few nations were reciprocating in reducing their levels as the United States reduced its own back toward its 1929 level.

Image source: Tariff

Repeal and Legacy

Roosevelt campaigns against the tariff act

1932

Roosevelt spoke against the act during his successful campaign for president in 1932, and the 1932 Democratic campaign platform pledged to lower tariffs.

Image source: Franklin D. Roosevelt

Smoot and Hawley lose their seats in 1932 elections

Nov 1932

Consequently, Hawley lost re-nomination, while Smoot was one of 12 Republican senators who lost their seats in the 1932 elections, with the swing being the largest in Senate history, equaled only in 1958 and 1980.

Image source: 1932 United States elections

Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act passed

1934

Roosevelt and the now-Democratic Congress passed the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934, which liberalized trade policy following the protectionist Smoot–Hawley era.

Bretton Woods Agreement spurs framework for trade

1944

While the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944 focused on foreign exchange and did not directly address tariffs, those involved wanted a similar framework for international trade. Truman launched this process in November 1945 with negotiations for a proposed International Trade Organization (ITO).

Image source: Bretton Woods system

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade signed

Oct 1947

Separate negotiations on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) moved more quickly than the ITO effort, with an agreement signed in October 1947. Adding a multilateral most-favored-nation component to reciprocity, GATT served as a framework for gradual tariff reduction over the subsequent half century.

Consumptive demand exception removed from Tariff Act

Feb 2016

Prior to 2016, the Tariff Act barred goods made with forced or indentured labor but included a consumptive demand exception allowing such imports when domestic production was insufficient. The exception was removed under Representative Ron Kind's amendment, incorporated into the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 and signed by President Obama in February 2016.

Image source: Internet Tax Freedom Act

Cultural References and Modern Parallels

Ferris Bueller's Day Off references the tariff

1986

In the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Ben Stein, playing a high school economics teacher, memorably references the Smoot–Hawley Tariff in a droning lecture to his students. The act is also heavily featured in the 1989 book Dave Barry Slept Here by Dave Barry.

Image source: Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Gore invokes Smoot–Hawley in NAFTA debate with Perot

Nov 1993

In 1993, in discussion leading up to the passage of NAFTA, then-Vice President Al Gore mentioned the Smoot–Hawley Tariff as a response to objections voiced by Ross Perot during a debate they had on The Larry King Show.

Image source: North American Free Trade Agreement

Bachmann misnames tariff as 'the Hoot–Smalley Act'

Apr 2009

In April 2009, Representative Michele Bachmann made news when she referred incorrectly to the Smoot–Hawley Tariff as 'the Hoot–Smalley Act' and misattributed its signing to Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Image source: Michele Bachmann

FATCA compared to Smoot–Hawley

2010

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) has been compared to the Smoot–Hawley Tariff, with Andrew Quinlan of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity calling FATCA 'the worst economic idea to come out of Congress since Smoot–Hawley'.

Trump pledges similar tariffs in 2024 campaign

2024

During his 2024 political campaign, Donald Trump pledged to institute tariffs similar to those of the Smoot–Hawley era. In its November 2024 'Year Ahead' forecast supplement for the global economy, The Economist observed renewed parallels with the aftermath of the Tariff Act.

Image source: Donald Trump 2024 presidential campaign

April 2025 tariffs renew attention to Smoot–Hawley

Apr 2, 2025

The tariffs announced on April 2, 2025, which could raise tariff levels higher than those during the Smoot–Hawley era, brought renewed attention to the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act.

Image source: Tariffs in the second Trump administration

Trump administration first invokes section 338

Jul 2026

In July 2026, the Trump administration invoked section 338 of the Tariff Act for the first time in its history, 96 years after the act's passage in 1930.

Key Facts

The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was signed into law by President Herbert Hoover on June 17, 1930, despite a petition from over 1,000 economists urging him to veto it.
It raised average U.S. tariffs on imported goods to nearly 45-53%, among the highest levels in American history.
Foreign governments retaliated with their own tariffs and trade restrictions, causing U.S. exports and imports to fall by roughly 60% between 1929 and 1932.
Many historians and economists believe the tariff worsened and prolonged the Great Depression by shrinking global trade.
Its damaging effects led to the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which shifted U.S. policy toward trade liberalization.

Source

This Smoot-Hawley Tariff timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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