By Kenny Malone, Sally Helm, Lena Richards, Bryant Urstadt, NPR
(Note: This episode originally ran in 2018.)
The Smoot-Hawley Tariffs were a debacle that helped plunge America into the Great Depression. What can we learn from them?
Today on the show, we tell the nearly 100-year-old story of Smoot and Hawley, that explains why Congress decided to delegate tariff power to the executive branch in the first place. It’s a story that weaves in wool, humble buckwheat, tiny little goldfish, and even Ferris Bueller… Anyone? Anyone?
It’s also what set the stage for the Trump tariffs.
