Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

When the US doubled its import duties during the Great Depression, it severely damaged world trade. Other countries retaliated with their own tariffs, causing international trade to collapse further. This worsened the global economic crisis instead of helping any single nation.

This illustrates the danger of narrow self-interest because: when every country raises trade barriers to protect itself, world trade shrinks for everyone. What seems beneficial for one country triggers retaliation, leading to a downward spiral. Global crises require cooperative solutions — not competitive protectionism — as the Depression demonstrated.

Source: Chapter 3, Section 3.4 – The Great Depression

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• The key fact from the passage: "The US attempt to protect its economy in the depression by doubling import duties also dealt another severe blow to world trade."
• Examiners want: (1) the immediate effect on world trade, (2) the broader lesson about collective vs. selfish action.
• Don't just state the US action — explain the chain reaction (retaliation → trade collapse → deeper crisis).
• Link clearly to the idea that global crises demand global cooperation, not individual protectionism. This gives the answer its 3-mark depth.