Herbert Hoover signed the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act during the economic crisis that followed the 1929 stock-market crash.
Hoover, the 31st president of the United States, signed the tariff into law on 17 June 1930. The act raised United States duties on thousands of imported goods. It was intended to protect American producers, but many trading partners objected and adopted retaliatory tariffs.
The stock-market crash had already occurred in 1929, so the tariff did not cause the initial collapse. Economists and historians continue to debate how much the act worsened the subsequent international contraction. Reduced trade, banking failures, falling prices, and monetary problems all contributed to the Great Depression.
A frequent mix-up is identifying Franklin D. Roosevelt, who became president in 1933, as the signer. Roosevelt later introduced the New Deal, whereas Hoover was president when Smoot–Hawley became law. The tariff is therefore linked to both the post-crash period and the broader decline in world trade.