The federal govt has very few responsibilities but protecting the border is one of them. Tariffs are the protection American workers deserve, need and are now starting to get. It is not just human traffic that we need protection from. Stopping predatory dumping of goods is also the job of the feds. It should happen automatically. They raise their tariffs then we raise ours. It should be axiomatic.
China does not have a “free trade” policy. It is absolutely managed trade, for the benefit of the Party and what their central planners deem they can manipulate for the country.
Trump is correct to simply say, as he did with Europe - reciprocity. We import your auto parts for a duty of 5%, we don’t require technology transfer, we don’t have outrageous testing standards. China must have the same, or penalties will ensue. Clinton should never have allowed China into the WTO on such unequal terms.
Trump himself says he is for “free trade.” But, he is the only politician actually trying to make it so.
So what does it mean to be for free trade? To support Trump’s policies?