Average U.S. Tariff Rates, 1900–2012, and the Downward Spiral of World Imports, 1930–1933 Tariffs and quotas are the most common forms of trade restrictions. Panel A shows that tariff rates in the United States peaked during the Great Depression. Over the last several decades, tariffs have steadily declined to an average of about 2% today. When tariffs jumped with the passage of the Smoot-Hawley Act in 1930, world imports spiraled downward as shown in panel B. As trade between nations declined, incomes, output, and employment also fell worldwide. In panel B, total monthly imports in millions of U.S. dollars for 75 countries is shown spiraling downward from $2,738 million in January 1930 to $1,057 million in March 1933.
Source: Charles Kindleberger, The World Depression 1929–1939 (Berkeley: University of California Press), 1986, p. 170.
Source: Charles Kindleberger, The World Depression 1929–1939 (Berkeley: University of California Press), 1986, p. 170.