“The only argument for tariffs I’ve heard that makes any sense is that you need the threat of tariffs to get trading partners to reduce their tariffs.”
The PPACA increased US costs by at least 5%.
A 5% tariff is need to offset PPACA costs to level the playing field.
The PPACA isn’t the only thing making the USA a costly place to manufacture. There are waste disposal laws, Medicare/Medicaid cost shifting, etc.
The PPACA isn’t going away, the EPA isn’t going away, and neither is the need for tariffs on foreign made stuff.
There also Chinese communism. The Chinese government owns all urban land and makes a pretty yuan off of it. The key plank of the Communist Manifesto makes Chinese real property costs $0. This thieving communist cost advantage needs to be offset by tariffs.
Where did you hear that?
I don’t buy the level the playing field argument. As long as the dollar floats anything you do in the way of tariffs will be offset by an adjustment of the dollar. It may benefit the steel industry if you impose steel tariffs. But every other industry will be at a greater disadvantage caused by the adjustment of the dollar—whatever disadvantage is needed to offset the distortion caused by the tariffs on steel. You could impose an across the board tariff of say 10% but the effect of that would be that the dollar would rise by 10% and you’d be right back where you started. You might try to fix the dollar. That’s what the Chinese do with their currency. We used to do that but Nixon abandoned it back in the 70s when the fixed rate got so far out of wack with reality that it could not be sustained. The Chinese will probably have that problem themselves someday.