His trade policy would tank the economy.
Raise prices, lower standard of living, dramatically increase cost of goods and services, fewer exports.
Like the USA did for the years it lived on tariffs, of course.
Ah, but you are thinking the worst case. You probably believe Trump will raise tariffs on Chinese goods by 45% (reported by media, but denied by Trump). The fact is that some negotiated elements will be applied but these can be done without the worst case effect on the economy.
Trump has pointed out that monetary policy being applied by China is part of the problem.
I do understand how a higher price for overseas goods could be caused. For example, France supports their soybean production by adding a tariff on US soybeans. The result is that every Frenchman pays more for soybean products than is necessary. This is apparently what France wants. So why can’t the US level the playing field with our low labor cost trading partners?
The strongest arrow in the trade quiver right now is the US corporate tax rate. If we lower this, then our companies will experience costs that are more competitive. We will still lose to the labor intensive products markets but may increase the tech and robot product lines balance. What Trump is saying is that better negotiations can improve things for Americans and obviously raising prices in the USA is something to be avoided. Right now we have a severe number of workers out of the labor force. They might prefer a job to the present situation, even if trade were affected as you indicate. Only don’t go totally to the worst case scenario. Good negotiation does not mean giving the store away.