Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934

The act amended the Tariff Act of 1930 to authorize executive trade agreements that lowered or raised duties by up to 50 percent of existing rates, extended to other countries through unconditional most-favored-nation treatment. The authority was granted for three years and renewed repeatedly until the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 replaced it. It imposes no current obligations.

The act began the shift of tariff-setting power from Congress to the President, the arrangement behind today's fast-changing executive tariffs. It reversed Smoot-Hawley's high duties through negotiated cuts and paved the way for GATT. For importers and 3PLs, this history explains why US duty rates can change by proclamation or USTR notice rather than new legislation, as with the 2025 and 2026 tariff actions, and why landed cost models need frequent updates.

• Bretton Woods Conference1944 · 44 nations create the IMF and World Bank

• Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act (Tariff Act of 1930)1930 · 1930 tariff law still at the core of US customs law
• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)1947 · Postwar treaty that set most-favored-nation tariff rules
• Trade Expansion Act of 19621962 · Kennedy-era trade law that contains Section 232

1. Office of the Historian: Protectionism in the Interwar Period history.state.gov
2. Britannica: Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act britannica.com