Which Act raised U.S. tariffs to record levels, triggering retaliatory tariffs and reducing trade?

• A. Tariff Act of 1922
• B. Morrill Act
• C. Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act (1930)
• D. Clayton Antitrust Act

Answer: (C)

Raising tariffs to protect domestic industries can backfire by reducing international trade and inviting retaliation from other countries. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 did exactly that: it pushed duties on thousands of imported goods to historically high levels. With prices higher for goods from abroad, other nations responded with their own tariffs on American exports. The result was a steep decline in global trade just as the United States was already deep into the Great Depression, which worsened economic hardship instead of helping domestic industries.

Other options don’t fit as well. The Tariff Act of 1922 raised tariffs earlier but not to record levels, and it didn’t trigger the same broad wave of retaliatory tariffs. The Morrill Act is about establishing land-grant colleges, and the Clayton Antitrust Act strengthens antitrust enforcement—neither is about tariffs or trade policy.