History Rhymes – The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act and Why We're Heading Down a Dangerous Path Again

History Rhymes – The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act and Why We're Heading Down a Dangerous Path Again

We’ve seen this movie before, and honestly, we didn’t like the ending.

Back in 1930, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act passed, and it raised tariffs on foreign goods to protect American farmers and businesses during the Great Depression. The result? Global trade wars, retaliatory tariffs, and a worsened depression. History doesn't repeat itself, but it sure rhymes.

Fast forward to today, and it feels eerily similar. China’s deals are replacing American products with alternatives from places like Australia and Brazil. Our beef is being swapped out, and our soybeans? Not ours anymore.

And, let’s talk about IP infringement—China no longer has a reason to keep our intellectual property safe, and luxury goods? Turns out, the markups we were paying were the real rip-off. We’ve cut out the middleman, and while it benefits us as consumers, it could destroy American businesses in the long run.

Trade policies? Yeah, they need an overhaul, but closing off the market like we’re doing now is no way to fix things.

History is showing us what happens when we isolate ourselves. Let’s learn from it. Follow for more on how the economy works, and why we need to think smarter about these policies.