Tarrifs have never been done on the scale that you are talking about. Remember the steel tarrif against Korea that turned into a disaster for the auto industry? You are essentially saying the gummit should price everything.
When did that become a Conservative idea? Let the market work and all the boats will rise.
Pray for W and Our Troops
"Tarrifs have never been done on the scale that you are talking about."
Then you need to go back to history class. When you say "on the scale" it's because there wasn't such a massive disparity in manufacturing costs between nations then, as there is between the US and China now. To have the same effect as the tariffs did through most of this nation's history, it will require much larger tariffs now. Of course you don't do it all at once. It has to be phased in. Otherwise it's like trying to go in reverse while traveling 55mph on the freeway. Very messy. Companies would rather earn some profit rather than none. So if they see that eventually it's going to be more expensive to manufacture overseas than here, they'll start moving their investments in preparation. That'll start the reversal of America's industrial weakening.
"Remember the steel tarrif against Korea that turned into a disaster for the auto industry?"
The steel tariffs didn't do squat to the auto industry, the massive increase in steel demand from China did that.
"You are essentially saying the gummit should price everything."
Non-sense. Applying a tariff doesn't price anything. It adds to the price of something imported. Did you know that before WWII less than 5% of our economy depended upon trade? Literally the entire population of the rest of the world could've suddenly disappeared, and we hardly would've been affected. Look at the difference now and the vulnerabilities that free trade policies have created. for argument's sake, if we were to wake up one morning to find nothing but water where Japan used to be, what would be the effect on the US economy?
"When did that become a Conservative idea?"
You mean how long has protectionism been a Conservative idea? Through most of America's history. It is one of the main reasons we became a world power. The switch to free trade has been only over the past 40 years. Most of it during the Cold War when Reagan saw it as a weapon against the Soviets. It was useful for propping up foreign economies to keep them from falling to communism until the Evil Empire imploded. Once it was gone, and communism thouroughly discredited, the policies were no longer needed and should've been phased out. But too many people in the corporate world got so rich and powerful off of it they didn't want it to end.
"Let the market work and all the boats will rise."
Ah, but only if the "sea level" is the same everywhere. You only find that in the internal market, and not between nations. If their "sea-level" is much lower than yours, then in order for "all the boats" to rise you have to first lower to their level.