The idea that excise taxes are “bad” is ridiculous.
All taxes are penalties. You can evade paying import taxes by buying US-made goods. You can't evade income taxes, unless you get your income renamed as a “gift” or “welfare,” and then you pay nothing.
Fight government spending and the income tax, not the use of the excise tax.
But what they are, are taxes.
They take money out of the pocket of some citizens, under penalty of imprisonment, in order to benefit other citizens.
And they are every bit as susceptible to cronyist manipulation as is our current tax system.
As long as we all keep that in mind, we'll be OK.
Ha, so I can buy a Japanese bicycle at $800 (including a $150 tariff) or I can buy an American bicycle at $795, which may or may not be as good depending on whether it was built on a Friday, and on how many six-packs the "workers" sneaked into the factory.
I can hardly wait.