Just once, I'd like to see a protectionist admit that he has no idea of what he's talking about. Please refer to Heading 4011:
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (2006) -- Supplement 1 (Rev. 1)
a 4% tariff on tires. wow, that's really going to hurt them. On a $50 tire, that's $2.
What we are doing is selling our stored wealth, intellectual property, factory, realstate, corporate stocks, etc. So we can buy cheap imports. We are cashing in on generations of stored wealth, we are also going deep into debt, and of course the worst part of this so call "free trade" that is not free trade, is that we are selling our means of producing wealth, making it much more difficult to generate the wealth needed to pay for the cheap imports. In earlier days our leaders knew that cheap imports were in fact a bad deal for the nation. "Build it here and we get the product and the money too". Sadly, our current leaders are more interested in giving the mob bread (cheap imports) then they are in doing what is best for the nation. This can easily be seen by looking at the growth of government spending of late.
So the great give away of wealth, job, and security continues. "Let the Good Times Roll", "Party Like It's 1999". There is zero chance that someday, perhaps someday soon, the world will decide that it is time the USA lives within it's means, and demands payment of goods and services provided with something other then US dollars. Euro's maybe? Corn, wheat, 787's, military action against a threat? Whatever, what is crystal clear is that the USA is being played for a sucker and one day will be presented with the bill.
But hey, you get cheap stuff so screw those lazy American workers that won't work for 75 cents an hour. The hell with them seems to be the creo of the "free trade", (that is not free trade) fools.