didnt expect to read this on stacker.news

We do not need to defer to mainstream economists to understand that tariffs both incur increased cost on the host countries consumers and create a false advantage for host nation manufacturers. The net benefit is not to the host nation, nobody except the governments budget benefits, - but as a short term 'fix' and political strategy, tariffs have a long history. They do not address the fundamental problem- the USA and the west more generally are fat and bloated having consumed far more of the planets resources for decades than they produce and sustaining this long after they enjoyed trade surpluses. Sustaining it via ceaseless fiat debt issuance and debasement. Trump does identify the source of the problem- China - but he has not real solution to the fact that they have won the trade war by building a more productive and hungry less bloated manufacturing economy. Tariffs might buy a little time and slow down the decline, but they will not fix the fundamental problem. China, with BRICS becoming the dominant economy and nation globally seems now almost inevitable. Tariffs being imposed also have a long history of preceding wars.