Economists Echo Smoot-Hawley Warnings

More than 1,100 economists signed a letter to Congress and the president asking the government not to make the same mistake it did in 1930, when Congress passed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. The letter, published May 3, said trade is significantly more important than it was in 1930, but that the fundamental economic principles that argue against tariffs have not changed in the nearly 90 years since then. The letter quotes a 1930 letter, signed by 1,028 economists, that asked Congress to reject Smoot-Hawley. Tariffs "would raise the cost of living and injure the great majority of our citizens," the original letter said. Exporters would also suffer from retaliatory tariffs. The signatories include economists from the left, right and center, and 15 Nobel Prize winners.