France’s Foreboding 1932 Elections

In April 1932, a struggle over trade policy between France and the U.S. was put on hold for the French election, which would mark a significant shift in the country’s economic and political position.

Although French imports had fallen by about 40 percent in a year, exports had dropped further, yielding a deficit of almost 1 billion francs per month. The French created quotas for incoming goods and raised tariff rates to encourage the purchase of domestic substitutes, retaliating for the 1930 U.S. tariff increases.