In the case of consumer electronics what is the other option? Or textiles. Or furniture.
...the seller “such as China” does not have other markets nearly as profitable.
Or the rest of the world either, assuming that President Trump will not direct his trade ire solely against Mexico and China.
Therefore there is build in leverage on the customers side, which we refuse to use.
And that leverage is to either tax it with a tariff, which U.S. consumers would pay, or refuse to import it, which would leave U.S. consumers without.
We can do without China much easier then they can do without our market.
Cutting off trade would have a terrible impact on both China and the U.S.
Fixed it.
“And that leverage is to either tax it with a tariff, which U.S. consumers would pay, or refuse to import it, which would leave U.S. consumers without.”
We need to negotiate using all the arrows in our quill with recalcitrant China and If that includes the imposition of tariffs or blocking imports why refuse to use them? I believe they would only have to be temporary to achieve the desired result. That’s where some of the confusion lies. The long term effects of such policies would admittedly be detrimental to us but China would capitulate. China’s economy is very vunerable right now. They would be hurt more than we would. For us the short term spike in prices would have no real long term effects on us and it would be a rare exception indeed that a Chinese product would not be available from an alternate source.
So look at using tariffs and import blockades not as an end in themselves or something permanent, but rather as a means of negotiating a better and more prosperous trade posture with China. Take them off the table as you advise and you have doomed any negotiations to failure.