A century ago, the Republicans passed the Fordney-McCumber Tariff of 1922 to protect the United States from German competition and rescue business from falling prices. The move triggered a global wave of tariff increases.

While long forgotten, echoes of Fordney-McCumber now reverberate across the US political landscape. Once again, politicians are grasping the tariff as a magic talisman against economic ills – the rise of China, the plight of workers and the general unfairness of the world economy.