Increase in European import tariffs during the Great Depression 1927-1931

In the wake of the Great Depression, many European economies adopted protectionist policies in order to boost their domestic industries and shield them from foreign competition. The most common way that countries do this is by placing restrictions and huge tariffs on foreign imports, therefore giving an advantage to producers in their home markets. Following the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the global depression that followed, fifteen countries in Europe increased import tariffs by an average of 64 percent; with tariffs more than doubling in Germany, who had been struggling with the economic fallout of the First World War for more than a decade by this point. Tariffs in the agricultural sector also increased significantly, more than tripling in Germany and more than doubling in France and Italy.