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• The United States Congress passed the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 to address the Great Depression, but the act worsened the economic situation as Canada, Britain, Germany, France, and other industrial nations retaliated with their own tariffs and bilateral trade deals, causing a decline in American imports and exports.
• Between 1980 and 2000, United States real imports increased by $1,267.6 billion and real exports increased by $897.8 billion.
• In 2023, total U.S. imports were $3.8 trillion and total U.S. exports were $3.1 trillion.
• The 'Historical Statistics of the United States (Colonial Times to 1957)' provides comprehensive data on United States trade, including the value of exports and imports from 1790 to 1957, merchandise imports and duties from 1821 to 1957, and indexes of quantity and unit value of exports and imports from 1879 to 1957.
• When a tariff-imposing country's exchange rate appreciates, it makes imports cheaper and partially offsets the tariff, but it simultaneously makes exports more expensive and reduces export volume.
• Between 1947 and 1980, United States real imports increased by $340.4 billion, while real exports increased by $289.3 billion.
• "Tariffs remain an unknown that could have a large impact on our company due to both imports of our raw materials and exports of our finished product, not to mention the impact of demand on our industrial customers."
• The mercantilist approach used by European colonial empires attempted to create a favorable balance of trade by limiting imports and promoting exports.
• From a Keynesian perspective, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was counterproductive because the decline in United States exports exceeded the reduction in imports.
• Between 2000 and 2024, United States real imports increased by $1,886.8 billion and real exports increased by $1,290.9 billion.
• In the third quarter of 2024, U.S. real imports reached a record annualized rate of $3.707 trillion, and U.S. real exports peaked at an annualized rate of $2.638 trillion.
• In 2023, U.S. imports of goods and services represented 13.9% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), having exceeded 12% since 1997 and peaking at 17.4% in 2008.