Also: I think it would make more sense for those targeted tariffs to be one of the last steps in creating a home-grown industry, and not one of the first. Rather than slapping down some tariffs and hoping that your captains of industry will build the infrastructure to meet the demand, you’d instead want to subsidize the industry first, and only put the tariffs in place to curb imports once domestic production has ramped up. By applying the tariffs first, you’re just taxing your population with no incentive for change, because the demand doesn’t disappear while waiting for the industry to be built, and the people who might do the building can just pass the import costs on to the consumer anyhow.
Don’t forget the damage done by being so wildly inconsistent in maintaining the policy. MAYBE someone would invest in building production to take advantage of the tariff protections. However when you cancel the tariffs a month later, then reinstate them, then lower them, raise them, cancel them, and renew them again like a child mashing buttons, nobody will EVER invest in national production because they can’t expect those tariffs to still be there when the factories are ready. Trump would have to actively try to do more economic damage than he has already.
Also: I think it would make more sense for those targeted tariffs to be one of the last steps in creating a home-grown industry, and not one of the first. Rather than slapping down some tariffs and hoping that your captains of industry will build the infrastructure to meet the demand, you’d instead want to subsidize the industry first, and only put the tariffs in place to curb imports once domestic production has ramped up. By applying the tariffs first, you’re just taxing your population with no incentive for change, because the demand doesn’t disappear while waiting for the industry to be built, and the people who might do the building can just pass the import costs on to the consumer anyhow.
Don’t forget the damage done by being so wildly inconsistent in maintaining the policy. MAYBE someone would invest in building production to take advantage of the tariff protections. However when you cancel the tariffs a month later, then reinstate them, then lower them, raise them, cancel them, and renew them again like a child mashing buttons, nobody will EVER invest in national production because they can’t expect those tariffs to still be there when the factories are ready. Trump would have to actively try to do more economic damage than he has already.
Now you’re thinking with tarrifs!