If "universal import tariffs" were a sensible way to protect a nation's jobs, then China and India can simply enact such tariffs at the same time we do in order to keep jobs from returning to the U.S., can't they?
"Universal import tariff" would be a mechanism of increasing the income of people who are not competitive in a world market and decreasing the income of people who are comptetive. You expect this to benefit the U.S.?
Many Japanese products were considered cheap junk when I was a kid in the fifties. Products "made in Japan" were of inferior quality and were very inexpensive.
Gradually Japan increased the quality of their products and the resulting economic success translated into a higher standard of living for their people. Their success with automating the production of television CRTs caused the shutdown of non-competitive U.S. manufacturers.
Once the standard of living of the average Japanese worker approached that of workers in the U.S., it became increasingly more difficult to provide competitive products. The Japanese government was mistakenly convinced that it was the actions of government that were responsible for Japanese success rather than the actions of innovative companies.
Now Japan finds itself in an overly controlled economy with an aging population, a declining ability to innovate. and huge public debt. Economically, they look very much like the U.S.
Not American jobs. No.
Right now we seem to have exported all jobs.
We can bring back those for America.
From the look of things, we should start. Right now, we are giving everything to our competitors.
That is not a good long-term policy.
Just saying.