Thus, though Smoot-Hawley was not a direct cause of the Great Depression, as many have claimed, it did contribute to a breakdown of international trade precisely when the world could least afford it. The two-thirds decline in aggregate imports from 1929 to 1933 was only partly a result of falling incomes, and hence import demand; retaliatory trade and exchange-rate policies also played a major role in bringing about the global trade collapse.
因此，尽管斯穆特-霍利关税法案不是大萧条的直接原因，但正如许多人宣称的那样，它在世界最无力承受的时候助长了国际贸易的崩溃。从1929年到1933年，2/3总进口量的下跌仅是收入和进口需求下降的部分结果；报复性贸易和汇率政策也对全球贸易崩溃产生了重要影响。