The math favors tariffs as the way to restore balance and stability to the US economy. There may be a bump in inflation but if done carefully there will be a bigger bump in US wages, US employment and bring a reduction in the national debt.
Those who say tariffs simply add to the cost and gets passed on to the consumers are ignoring that the tariffs get paid to the US Treasury and can be used to incentivize US consumers in a number of ways, like lowering taxes, infrastructure, etc. so that the benefits offset the increased cost of imported goods. If nothing else the government can just pay it directly to American consumers. So imagine a made in China washing machine gets slapped with a 20% tariff and the Chinese manufacturer adds that 20% to the cost of that washing machine, so what was a $1,000 washing machine is now a $1,200 made in China washing machine. And where does that extra $200 go? To the US Treasury. But that means the US consumer gets screwed because the washer is now $200 more expensive? Answer: no, not if the US government gives that $200 to the US consumer. So who then actually pays the $200 tariff? Answer: The Chinese manufacturer, not the US consumer. So why have a tariff in the first place if everything comes out the same for the consumer? Answer: because it restores parity to "Made in the US" Vs "Made in China". It un-does the very reasons why products made in China are always cheaper than made in the USA: Chinese taxes are far less than US taxes, Chinese regulations are far less restrictive than US regulations, Chinese workers are paid far less than US workers, and Chinese manufacturers can get away with using dirty energy and American manufacturers can't. The US government has no control over China's taxes, or regulations, etc. But it can balance the difference with tariffs on imports from China.
