In 1930, the world was on the brink of the Great Depression. The stock market crashed in October of 1929 and the U.S. economy was declining.
In June of 1930, Congress passed the Smoot-Hawley Act, which imposed tariffs on more than 20,000 imported goods by 40-60%. Other countries soon responded and the resulting trade war is blamed for worsening the depression, which only the massive government spending of World War II ended.
While raising tariffs may be useful in some situations, their weaponization by the current administration runs the risk of destabilizing our economy, rising unemployment and an inflationary spiral. Ready for 1930, anyone?
Jay Naliboff
Chesterville
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