But who was really taxed? What other Americans might have lost when trade barriers when up in other countries against our goods? Please get back with me on this.
Why is a tariff always called a trade barrier?? It is not preventing trade. You may say it is sometimes a disincentive but I'll say it again. We created the greatest market in the world. Why is it somehow immoral to charge people if they want access to it? We had tariffs on certain goods at 40 percent and higher in the 20's and we had prosperity through the roof. The same can be said of the high tariff period from the civil war through the 1893 panic and we had surpluses every year to the point where the congress was trying to figure out how to tax less. And this was before the income tax.
As to who is actually taxed. The same as always, the people who purchase the product. Their cost will be higher because they choose to buy a product made in a foreign country as opposed to one made here. If the foreign product is superior, they'll pay the price for it, and the US Treasury will gain some revenue. This is how we did things before the socialists and their absolute free trade cousins got control of policy.