Good thing you were not around at the founding of our nation. The first(or nearly) piece of legislation signed by President WAshington was the Tariff Act.
True, I’m not quite that old, but tariffs have never done anything to enrich a nation. Every time the government intervenes in a free market, it causes distortions that have a ripple effect. Everyone wants the government to protect their business or occupation from competition, and it always fails.
Tariffs and Freedom
http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/tariffs-and-freedom#axzz2Ynx0nfd1