Trade Politics of the American Congress

Memories of the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Act continue to dominate analysis of the trade politics of the American Congress. Hardly a day passes without some reference to that symbol of American protectionism, which is thought to have precipitated, or at least aggravated, the Great Depression. The American Congress is regularly accused of repeating, or tending toward repetition of, that universally reviled measure. In fact, the American Congress has been, for the last 50 years, a regular supporter of liberal trade measures. Over that period, US trade policy has steered a relatively centrist course between the demands of special interests, protectionist, and doctrinaire free-traders. The fact is that, since the end of World War II, the American Congress has promoted a pragmatically liberal trade policy reflected in ever more complex and detailed US trade laws. The essence of this policy has been to reduce foreign barriers to US exports, through negotiation if possible, and through threats if necessary, all the while maintaining the relative openness of the US market to foreign imports.