历史小径·世界史英语30篇（1）
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Smoot-Hawley and the Shattered Web of Trade
斯穆特-霍利关税法与破碎的贸易之网
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In 1930, the U.S. passed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act to protect farmers and factories from foreign competition.
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Tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods rose to record highs, sometimes over 60%.
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Canada, France, and Germany quickly retaliated with their own steep tariffs on American exports.
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World trade volume collapsed by nearly two-thirds between 1929 and 1934 during the Great Depression.
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Small nations suffered most, as export-dependent economies like Cuba and Argentina faced sudden market closures.
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The law deepened global distrust and weakened the fragile cooperation built after World War I.
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Economists later agreed it worsened unemployment and delayed recovery across continents.
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Its failure paved the way for the 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
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Modern trade rules still reflect lessons learned from that era’s spiral of protectionism.
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Today’s WTO dispute panels often cite Smoot-Hawley as a cautionary milestone in economic diplomacy.