Lessons from Smoot-Hawley: Trade and Tariffs Today

If President Donald Trump goes through with his plan to levy sweeping tariffs on foreign imports, it wouldn’t be the first time the U.S. has done such a thing. Ever heard of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930? Anyone? Those tariffs are widely credited with sinking the United States deeper into the Great Depression. And although global trade looks different nowadays, they can teach us a lot about how Trump’s protectionist approach to global trade could play out. On the show today, Inu Manak, a fellow for trade policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, explains how the Smoot-Hawley tariff debacle can shed light on the current moment, why the president has the power to wield tariffs in the first place, and how punishing trading partners could leave the U.S. economy at a disadvantage. Plus, what this fight has to do with the 1980s film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and Roomba vacuum cleaners!

Later, one listener’s call to visit your local butcher. And, dating coach Damona Hoffman, host of the “Dates and Mates” podcast, answers the “Make Me Smart” question just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “Tariffs on Trading Partners: Can the President Actually Do That?” from Council on Foreign Relations
• “One Response to Trump’s Tariffs: Trade That Excludes the U.S.” from The New York Times
• “The United States has been disengaging from the global economy” from the Peterson Institute for International Economics
• “Protectionism 100 years ago helped ignite a world war. Could it happen again?” from The Washington Post
• “The US is one of the least trade-oriented countries in the world – despite laying the groundwork for today’s globalized system” from The Conversation

Got a question or comment for the hosts? Email makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.