Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act

The Reciprocal Tariff Act (RTAA) was enacted in 1934, authorizing the president to negotiate bilateral trade agreements with other countries to reduce tariffs in return for reciprocal reductions in the United States. The Act resulted in a significant reduction of duties, with American tariffs declining from an average of 46% in 1934 to 12% by 1962. Between 1934 and 1945, the United States signed 32 reciprocal trade agreements with 27 countries, and the RTAA played a key role in ushering in the era of liberal trade policy that persisted throughout the 20th century.learn more on wikipedia