The Chips Act, the Inflation Reduction legislation and the most recent round of protectionist tariffs on Electric Vehicles (EVs) and other products are all aimed squarely at blunting China’s development.
The adoption in the US of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act in 1930 worsened the impact of the Great Depression by destroying international trade.
However, the 1930 Act did not hide behind a security focus nor was it directed at a specific country. These are the differences that add a contagion complication to the current protectionist barriers that are enacted in the US under a variety of different Acts.
