Tarrifs are just a tax by another name. And the American consumer ends up paying for it one way or another.
I can see using tarrifs to protect American workers from 3rd world labor. But punishing other 1st world countries (Europe, Japan, S. Korea, etc)? That just shows that American companies can’t compete.
If a democrat president was pulling this crap conservatives would be raising hell. But a “republican” doing it makes it all just fine...
Not really. For example, if we export a Chevy to Germany, the EU throws a 12.5% tariff on the car. If the EU exports a BMW to the US, we put a 2.5% tariff on it. Trump offered the EU a "reciprocal" tariff deal, which they refused. (A recipropcal tariff simply means we will charge the same tariff they charge on similar products.) Our cars are actually cheaper than most European cars...we would compete very effectively if they removed the tariffs. The tariff on Canadian goods has nothing to do with efficiency. We simply want a level playing field. Canada imposes a 250% tariff on American dairy products, so Trump retaliate with increased tariffs on things they sell here. Also, if we were allowed to sell under free trade conditions in world markets, scale economies would also make our products even more inexpensive and other countries don't want that. US manufacturing can compete if give a chance.