From Smoot-Hawley to Trump: Why 2025 Tariffs Could Spark Deeper Crisis Than 1930s

Economic historians see alarming parallels between Trump’s proposal and the infamous 1930 Smoot-Hawley tariffs that:

• Reduced global trade by 66%
• Worsened the Depression by 2 years
• Fueled extremist movements worldwide

Key differences today:
✓ 300% more global supply chain integration
✓ $7T in derivatives tied to trade flows
✓ AI-driven market reactions

“Modern economies aren’t built for this,” said Harvard’s Kenneth Rogoff. Potential cascading effects:
→ $18T in global GDP losses
→ 200M jobs at risk in emerging markets
→ Bitcoin becoming default trade currency