Act passed by the US
Congress in
1930, it brought the US
tariff to the highest level since the
Dingley tariff of the 1890s. Although this protectionist act was only signed by President
Herbert Hoover in June 1930, after the great crash of
October 24, 1929, the passage of the tariff bill had began before this. This bill exemplified the
protectionism that dominated world trade in the 1920s and 30s and brought retaliatory tariff acts from foreign countries.
Many economists agree that that the passing of this act did not nothing to relieve or shorten the great worldwide slump of 1929-1933. The effect of the bill did not strengthen the impoverished stock market, and the deflationary effects the depression caused in the USA economy were backed up by the fall in imports due to the tariff. This rise in protectionism also contributed to a growing disharmony in international relations throughout the 1930s.
The tariff act was known after its joint sponsors, Representative Willis C. Hawley and Senator Reed Smoot, who were both Republicans. The Hawley-Smoot tariff act was undercut by the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934. However the Hawley-Smoot Tariff act is still the basic tariff of the United States, but 60 years worth of bilateral agreements and exploitation of loopholes mean that most nations now receive Most Favoured Nation treatment. Only those with no such contact with the US, such as North Korea would still be affected by the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act.