This is, of course, in and of itself a drastic violation of the free market and imposition on the personal freedom of each American who wants to do business with someone overseas.
OK, let us assume that conservative principles will allow us to support this, on the theory that it is necessary for a greater good. Lesser of two weevils and all.
What would be the unintended consequences of drastically restricting imports? Well, the first and most obvious would be a significant increase in cost of the goods everyone buys, most greatly impacting the lower end goods, in other words those most often purchased by those with less money. A true tax on the poor.
The increase in cost of goods would be significant. I'm not enough of an economist to determine how much, but I would suspect it would be in the vicinity of 20% or more at the least, for those items that are now imported.
This would equate to a cut in pay for all Americans. For some reason, people will sneer at lower prices, while nobody at all sneers at increased income.
As an interesting side note, some of those who support protective tariffs today are the same people who use the protective tariff of the 1860s to justify secession. Yet the protective tariffs of the 1800s was, in theory, put in place to protect American "infant industries" till they could compete with established European industries.
No such claim is made today. American consumers must provide corporate welfare forever to companies unable ever to compete in an international free market.
Do we really want to go down that road?
Some guy who makes surfboards in California wants to sell them in Taiwan. Cool. Comes up with order, but then problem. Taiwan has a tariff on imported surfboards. However, surfboards come in duty free. Now, not only can he not export his surfboards overseas to Taiwan, but a Taiwanese surfboard company can export them into the US duty free.
This happens all the time to our companies. Many other countries protect their industries while we favor let everything in approach. I don't know what the 'correct' approach is.
But, 'we' are more productive and innovative than ever before here. We are so productive we destroy jobs here.
Globalization has been great for countries that built up after WWII and other less developed ones. US, not so much.
The middle class was a fluke here, created by the destruction of Europe and Asia.
What other choice is there? Otherwise our workers are going to be paid the prevailing international wage. If that is say five dollars per day then that is what American workers will be paid. Shanty towns will be the norm not the exception and a two-hundred fifty foot apartment will be a palace for the average worker. Is that what we want? I don’t think so. Besides, there is really no free trade. China and Japan for example don’t allow our products in unfettered. However they get their stuff into our country freely and our workers suffer. Heck their dumping and government support for their industries have put whole sections of our nation out of business. I used to be an avid free trader but not any more. We don’t have free trade we have looter trade.