World War One actually helped American Industry. America only sent troops to fight in Europe in 1917 so American Industry was not affected by the war anywhere near as much as Britain and France, this helped America pull ahead of them to become the world’s leading exporter. American industry was also able to profit by selling war goods to Britain and France. By the end of the war in 1918 Britain owed the U.S. £900 million. But this also meant that Britain and France could not afford American food exports so when America started to overproduce grain this caused a big problem, especially when you consider the tariffs the British and French governments placed on imported American goods. The tariffs helped the American economy in the short term