Smoot-Hawley by the numbers

Fantine · Apr 3, 2025

When the Hoover Administration passed tariffs on response to the Great Depression, here were the results:
In 2 years, unemployment increased from 8% to 25%.

Imports fell by 66%, but exports fell by 61%.

Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

That's what happens when you elect a man with six bankruptcies and half a billion in legal judgments for tax fraud.

Vambram · Apr 3, 2025

I Praise God that we are NOT anywhere close to being in an economic depression and also that some nations are responding favorably to the USA and our President and the people's desire to greatly reduce the USA trade deficits.

Fantine · Apr 3, 2025

I heard about Russia and Cuba, enemy nations exempted for some reason.
The "people's desires" have shifted, based on the April 1 elections and other state legislative elections...and "the people" were less than 50%.
If you read the Wikipedia, you would see the tariffs helped for a brief period before exacerbating.
Only one silver lining. After Smoot-Hawley, Congress was Democratic for 60 years...

Vambram · Apr 3, 2025

That is not a silver lining at all when I consider the history of those 60 years. Also, even though the progressive liberals won in Wisconsin, they lost in Florida on April 1st. Meanwhile, President Trump still has better approval ratings than do any of the leadership of the Democratic Party. I my opinion, in the majority of the states in the USA, the majority of the people are still rejecting many of the various agendas of the progressive liberals in the Democratic Party.

MyOwnSockPuppet · Apr 3, 2025

Vambram said:
I Praise God that we are NOT anywhere close to being in an economic depression

Yet

Vambram said:
and also that some nations are responding favorably to the USA and our President and the people's desire to greatly reduce the USA trade deficits.

Who exactly? The international response I've seen range from rolled eyes, to plans to retaliate, to entering free trade negotiations with countries with which they had millennia of hostile relations. All manner of neutral-at-best, hostile-at-worst reactions. Nothing I've seen qualifies as favourable

Vambram · Apr 3, 2025

MyOwnSockPuppet said:
Yet

Who exactly? The international response I've seen range from rolled eyes, to plans to retaliate, to entering free trade negotiations with countries with which they had millennia of hostile relations. All manner of neutral-at-best, hostile-at-worst reactions. Nothing I've seen qualifies as favourable

Reagan secured peace through strength, Trump is betting he can achieve prosperity the same way

Trump's "Liberation Day" announcement in the Rose Garden was a declaration that the era of free trade and globalization was giving way to a new era of fair trade.

justthenews.com

Please read this entire article. Thank you.

Vambram · Apr 3, 2025

Reagan secured peace through strength, Trump is betting he can achieve prosperity the same way

Trump's "Liberation Day" announcement in the Rose Garden was a declaration that the era of free trade and globalization was giving way to a new era of fair trade.

justthenews.com

This link provides the sources of facts for the article in post #6

Fantine · Apr 3, 2025

Tempted to support this? Look at your IRA or 401K today. Still support it?

BTW, do you know the Boston Tea Party was fought over tariffs? Tariffs on imports, including tea, due to the Townshend Acts.

Have we been represented? Not really. Congress has to approve this lunacy, but Trump declared a pseudo emergency to grant himself this power.
Hurry up, ACLU.
Would the Senate pass this? Rand Paul and McConnell will be no's. Susan Collins, too. Apparently there are "economic conservatives" in the Senate who don't buy in to the degree of craziness they see daily. If they hear fury from their constituents they might put him in his place.
There is no emergency other than what he is creating.

Vambram · Apr 3, 2025

What President Trump wants is for nations around the world to have fair trade with the USA. We don't have fair trade when those nations have higher tariffs on American products than we do upon their products. Please tell me why the massive trade imbalance we have with nations all over the world is good for American workers?

FAITH-IN-HIM · Apr 3, 2025

Vambram said:
I Praise God that we are NOT anywhere close to being in an economic depression and also that some nations are responding favorably to the USA and our President and the people's desire to greatly reduce the USA trade deficits.

The average monthly income in the USA is $5,000 USD, whereas in countries like Bangladesh it is $250 USD, in China $1,200 USD, and in India $450 USD. The United States has 5% of the world's population but holds over 33% of the total cumulative wealth. This wealth disparity influences the trade deficit between the US and the rest of the world.

The United States has maintained a policy of supporting a strong dollar for last 50 years. The strength of the US dollar relative to other currencies affects the trade deficit. A strong dollar makes US exports more expensive and less competitive internationally, while making imports cheaper for American consumers. This currency dynamic promotes the importation of goods and services and reduces exports, contributing to the trade imbalance.

The US trade deficit with other countries has multiple contributing factors. A 25% tariff on Vietnam may not be effective given the average income in Vietnam is $600, which limits their ability to purchase as many US products as Americans buy from Vietnam.

Fantine · Apr 3, 2025

Trade ‘Emergency’ Follows Decades of Trump Anger That America Has Been Ripped Off

Economists and legal experts question how the strongest economy in the world can be facing a national emergency over the trade deficit.

www.nytimes.com

There are a number of different groups considering a suit to stop the tariffs since there was no "national emergency" requiring Trump to illegally seize power.
And by the time Congress feels the ire from the citizens we won't have any trouble defeating it in the Senate.

Vambram · Apr 3, 2025

FAITH-IN-HIM said:
The average monthly income in the USA is $5,000 USD, whereas in countries like Bangladesh it is $250 USD, in China $1,200 USD, and in India $450 USD. The United States has 5% of the world's population but holds over 33% of the total cumulative wealth. This wealth disparity influences the trade deficit between the US and the rest of the world.

The United States has maintained a policy of supporting a strong dollar for last 50 years. The strength of the US dollar relative to other currencies affects the trade deficit. A strong dollar makes US exports more expensive and less competitive internationally, while making imports cheaper for American consumers. This currency dynamic promotes the importation of goods and services and reduces exports, contributing to the trade imbalance.

The US trade deficit with other countries has multiple contributing factors. A 25% tariff on Vietnam may not be effective given the average income in Vietnam is $600, which limits their ability to purchase as many US products as Americans buy from Vietnam.

One of the primary reasons for the tariffs is to encourage businesses and corporations to bring their manufacturing plants back into the USA. When that happens, the American workers benefit from doing that.

FAITH-IN-HIM · Apr 3, 2025

Vambram said:
What President Trump wants is for nations around the world to have fair trade with the USA. We don't have fair trade when those nations have higher tariffs on American products than we do upon their products. Please tell me why the massive trade imbalance we have with nations all over the world is good for American workers?

Most developing nations have high tariffs, while most industrialized nations have low tariffs. The average tariff in developing nations is between 10% to 25%, whereas in industrialized nations it is between 3% to 9%, including the USA. There are also zero-tariff countries like Hong Kong. Developing nations' high tariffs align with their economic strategy, while industrialized nations often implement lower tariffs as part of their economic policy which is favorable for each industrial nation.

President Trump has stated that other countries are unfairly imposing tariffs on American products. However, I have not found any sources indicating that a specific country imposes high tariffs solely on US products while exempting other countries. Developing countries typically impose high tariffs on all imported products, regardless of their origin.

However I am open to reviewing data if President Trump's claim is accurate.

Pommer · Apr 3, 2025

Vambram said:
I Praise God that we are NOT anywhere close to being in an economic depression and also that some nations are responding favorably to the USA and our President and the people's desire to greatly reduce the USA trade deficits.

My mother’s pride and joy was the eight inch ball of string she had saved from various sources because she came of age during the Great Depression.
Making great big changes in tariff-policy leads to uncertainty which leads to nervous investors.
It’s turtles all the way down, from there.

Pommer · Apr 3, 2025

Fantine said:
I heard about Russia and Cuba, enemy nations exempted for some reason.
The "people's desires" have shifted, based on the April 1 elections and other state legislative elections...and "the people" were less than 50%.
If you read the Wikipedia, you would see the tariffs helped for a brief period before exacerbating.
Only one silver lining. After Smoot-Hawley, Congress was Democratic for 60 years...

To be fair, placing tariffs on nations already burdened by sanctions, seems like it’d be overkill.

Pommer · Apr 3, 2025

Vambram said:
What President Trump wants is for nations around the world to have fair trade with the USA. We don't have fair trade when those nations have higher tariffs on American products than we do upon their products. Please tell me why the massive trade imbalance we have with nations all over the world is good for American workers?

“Running the government like it’s a business” sounds good when stated like that.
But doesn’t that risk the government becoming the owner of the means of production?

Pommer · Apr 3, 2025

Vambram said:
One of the primary reasons for the tariffs is to encourage businesses and corporations to bring their manufacturing plants back into the USA. When that happens, the American workers benefit from doing that.

What CEO who values his stock-options, wants to commit to a decade-long strategy to appease a President who’s going to be out of office in less than four years?

Fantine · Apr 3, 2025

Vambram said:
One of the primary reasons for the tariffs is to encourage businesses and corporations to bring their manufacturing plants back into the USA. When that happens, the American workers benefit from doing that.

Ai synopsis: 1.7 million US factory jobs lost to automation since 2000. Each new robot will eliminate 1.6 worker jobs. If factories return, they will be heavily automated.

Pommer · Apr 4, 2025

Fantine said:
Ai synopsis: 1.7 million US factory jobs lost to automation since 2000. Each new robot will eliminate 1.6 worker jobs. If factories return, they will be heavily automated.

We’ll have to import more oil to keep millions of robots in good repair.

GoldenBoy89 · Apr 4, 2025

Vambram said:
What President Trump wants is for nations around the world to have fair trade with the USA. We don't have fair trade when those nations have higher tariffs on American products than we do upon their products. Please tell me why the massive trade imbalance we have with nations all over the world is good for American workers?

Maybe the trade deficits are a bad thing, idk. No one has ever explained that part but let’s say it’s bad. Why do you prefer this route of economic warfare against the whole world instead of diplomacy and negotiation? If he’s the great deal maker he sells himself to be, why would he go with this foolish self inflicted gunshot wound of escalating tensions with all of our trade partners and creating instability in the global economy and raising the price of everything for everyone?

Smoot-Hawley by the numbers

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