The voters are in the process of soundly rejecting the Free Trade theories being spouted by economists for the last 3+ decades.
Perhaps the academics are right. Higher tariffs and Smoot-Hawley 2.0 will lead to disaster.
We are about to find out.
We are currently in a disaster. A majority of manufacturing is done overseas. While the unemployment rate is low, it is widely accepted that this low rate is secondary to more people being out of the work force. The federal government has recorded the highest level of debt ever and has unfunded liabilities at the highest level ever. You could say it's fertile ground for things to get worse.
So I wonder is it the tariffs and S-H2.0 that's going to worsen it or is it the fact that no one knows a smooth way out of this mess? I rather think corruption is to blame, the ruling elite have been driving us toward disaster and the voters have finally decided to rip their hands off the steering wheel. We may head further down the disaster path before we finally turn the car around. But now we still have to drive out of disaster land before we are back on a road to prosperity. All the pain of getting back out will be blamed on the final desperate act of the voters.
We have had 3 decades of Free Trade. It may take 3 decades more to get back on our feet.