FDR and World Trade

[John Fredrick Parker]

For those here who are more articulate on the subject of the Great Depression than myself --

I'd say it's relatively uncontroversial that the Smoot-Hawley Tariff and the subsequent trade wars significantly contributed to the severity of the global crisis, with some even making a fair case that they were the chief catalysts.

What I'm curious about -- by the time FDR came to power, what were the challenges to restoring global trade; what, if any, efforts did he make toward said restoration; and how did he do considering?

Just a reminder -- I'd like this to stay on topic, which concerns global trade.

[Hyperbolus]

Obviously, the Great Depression left US industry largely idle. Shuttered factories did not require commodity; fuel or mineral imports. Likewise, unemployed workers could hardly afford coffee or other imported goods.
A more functional US economy with higher levels of employment and consumption would restore global demand for US exports. So the (US) domestic economy had to prosper again before global trade could recover.
In the 1930's the global economy was drifting away from free trade:the UK and France attempted mercantilism lite in their imperial spheres and nazi Germany bartered manufactured items for natural resources.

[Hoist40]

I'd say it's relatively uncontroversial that the Smoot-Hawley Tariff and the subsequent trade wars significantly contributed to the severity of the global crisis, with some even making a fair case that they were the chief catalysts.

While it is true that most economists seem to claim this, it is also true that most of the same economists claimed that prior to enactment various "free trade" deals such as NAFTA would not create big trade deficits for the US. So I am thinking that either these economists math or ideology is wrong when it comes to international trade and this probably also applies to the Great Depression. Especially since international trade was a much smaller part of the US economy (5%) in 1929 then it is today and so would not have a huge effect on the economy.

[Commissar]

International Trade was only a small part of the U.S. Economy when Smoot-Hawley Tariff was passed and had little effect.

American Investment had already fallen in Europe in the lead up to the Great Depression.