How do you compete with almost free labour then? Free trade doesn’t work.
Free trade does work.
It’s like what Churchill said about democracy - “It being the worst from of government except for all the others that have been tried.”
And by the way, if you like black markets you will really love tariffs. The thing is, despite all the connivances of government (tariffs, cronyism, etc. ) someone will always find a way to do it cheaper and better.
One more thing.
America has moved past the Industrial Age.
The Third World is entering it. It supplies the labor and products.
America has entered the service economy and Technological/Biometric Age. Tariffs won’t affect those businesses to the degree it did when we were making stuff.
The American worker needs to get smarter or take the low wages of that service economy.
Sure the Donald can Trump tariffs on goods coming from around the world. What do you think those countries are going to do with our products then? Our goods don’t sell in China because of their tariffs. China is proof that endless tariffs are not a viable economic system.
Tariff wars have never worked.
The current trade relationship with China is working because the American consumer likes to pay less for his things. The American consumer likes Walmart.