Economy

If there were a vibrant economy to fill the gaps caused by the failing import market.

But the US economy is dominated by corporations that prefer cheap labor to efficient and expert labor. So they move their manufacturing to Asia and other cheap labor countries while still selling their product here in the US. So, these corporations are the ones paying the tariffs, and they then pass on that expense to their customers.

As these corporations raise prices, a smart businessman could offer the same product for less if.......it could be made in the US. But the US no longer has the expertise, the supply chain, the infrastructure of markets to produce the products the corporations produce in cheap labor countries.

To go from a majority import economy to one dominated by in-country businesses takes careful planning and flexible policy otherwise you get the same sort of economic crash you got when you first sent all those jobs to foreign countries. Think 2008 crash.

Also the open borders for trade, when most all regulations were removed, where anyone can sell their products in the US market, caused millions of American companies to go bankrupt trying to compete with cheaper products from cheap labor countries. That American infrastructure of American based manufacturing went away when Free Trade agreements were handed out left and right.

So there is no infrastructure to rebuild an American based business environment. It needed to be created first, then apply tariffs to specific companies you want to encourage.

It's like they knocked down the dam, the flood waters rushed in and now they want to push back that water with tiny tariff paddles. It ain't going to work ...But also you have some very stupid people trying to figure this out and they aren't very good at it. There will be another crash much like when they took all the jobs and trade restrictions away.