Herbert Hoover signed the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act during the 1929–1932 market collapse.
Hoover, the 31st president of the United States, signed the tariff legislation on June 17, 1930. The act raised U.S. tariffs on thousands of imported goods and was intended to protect American producers during the early Great Depression.
Many economists and historians argue that the law encouraged retaliation by trading partners and contributed to a contraction in international trade. Its precise effect on the Depression remains debated, because the downturn also involved banking failures, deflation, debt problems, and collapsing demand.
The act is often mentioned alongside the 1929 stock-market crash, but it became law months after the famous October 1929 sell-offs. Hoover’s successor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, took office in March 1933 and supported a different approach to trade policy.