That was not my point.
I'm talking about the economic behavior of countries. We raise tariffs. They will respond by raising tariffs as an effort to get us to change our minds. We all spiral down together.
I will always vote for free trade. Yes, it will hurt some American workers. But the overall economic impact will be favorable.
Just think about what would happen if we put a 100% tariff on all imported goods. Would that work?
Probably not, are you suggesting we do?
So we enter into free trade agreements with countries that lower our tariffs while the corresponding country keeps theirs and helps their tax bases while we promote other incentives to send such jobs to that country. No thanks.
We have sent our jobs overseas, our taxes are already high, we need jobs to keep this going. Secondly, we have helped to develop countries like China, where they are now a economic and military threat via our trade policies. Well done!
Also, concerning tariffs, is that we can actually produce most of the stuff we need, unlike countries like Singapore. So, a country can raise a tariff against US, but they need to eat.