Increase tariffs causing more harm than helping has always been the dogma of economic regulators. Increasing tariffs for the purpose of retaliation is worse. I would rather see Mr. Trump ease government regulations, small business taxes, and deport lawyers file frivolous lawsuits against businesses.
How can you have inflation during a depression? You ether have one or the other.
How exactly is China going to retaliate? We do not import much to them
Ugh, no. Reagan did it successfully - look it up. Trump advocates carrot and stick: you give incentives to return money to the US while insisting on ending trade imbalance.
Targeted tariffs will work fine, especially since there is very little that China or Mexico can do to us. They could raise the cost of the companies that moved there, but that would only increase the incentive to move back.
Granted, it would be ugly for a while, and Trump will continue to get pilloried, but he seems to buck up to it rather well.
This sad bit of dogma is more like dogshit on the sole of your shoe, it is only true if you have a trading surplus.
If you are working from a negative position, and you trading "partner" already has a 45% tariff on specific items, your 45% tariff on their goods will level the trading field.
The majority of the chinese operation is with the USA and they cannot afford to shut the trade doors with us.