Douglas A. Irwin > Quotes

“These three Rs—revenue, restriction, and reciprocity—have been the main purposes of US trade policy. While all three have been important throughout history, US trade policy can be divided into three eras in which one of them has taken priority. In the first era, from the establishment of the federal government until the Civil War, revenue was the key objective of trade policy. In the second era, from the Civil War until the Great Depression, the restriction of imports to protect domestic producers was the primary goal of trade policy. In the third era, from the Great Depression to the present, reciprocal trade agreements to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade have been the main priority.”
― Douglas A. Irwin, Clashing Over Commerce: A History of US Trade Policy

“the world’s slide to protectionism in the 1930s. Undoubtedly, because of the Depression, many countries would have erected trade barriers even if the Smoot-Hawley tariff had never been implemented. But although Smoot-Hawley was not entirely responsible for the massive outbreak of protectionism in the early 1930s, it certainly contributed to the climate in which such policies flourished. Smoot-Hawley clearly inspired retaliatory moves against the United States, particularly—but not exclusively—by Canada. This retaliation had a significant effect in reducing U.S. exports. Even worse, Smoot-Hawley generated ill-will around the world and led to widespread discrimination against”
― Douglas A. Irwin, Peddling Protectionism: Smoot-Hawley and the Great Depression