Trump's Tariffs Echo Smoot-Hawley's Failed Experiment

A scene from the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off has resurfaced as President Donald Trump continues to escalate tariffs with Canada. In the movie, a teacher, played by Ben Stein, lectures on the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which raised import tariff rates in an effort to alleviate the effects of the Great Depression.

The film's portrayal of the Smoot-Hawley Act as ineffective is now widely accepted by historians and economists. The act did not help Americans, but instead pushed the global economy into a deeper crisis.

Ryan Sweet, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, notes that while Trump's tariffs may have some negative effects, 'the economy today is in significantly better shape than in 1930.' He also compares tariffs to complicated high school relationships.