Legal Definitions - Grundy Tariff

The Grundy Tariff, also known as the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, was a protectionist law passed in 1930 that increased tariff rates on most imported goods in the United States. This led to other countries implementing similar tariff increases, which contributed to the Great Depression.

The Act was named after its sponsors, Senator Reed Smoot of Utah and Representative Willis C. Hawley of Oregon. However, it is sometimes referred to as the Grundy Tariff because Joseph Grundy, the president of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association, was the main lobbyist supporting the Act.

For example, if a foreign company wanted to sell their products in the United States, they would have to pay a higher tariff than before the Grundy Tariff was passed. This made it more expensive for them to do business in the U.S., which led to retaliatory tariffs from other countries. As a result, international trade decreased, and the global economy suffered.