Exactly. The idea of global trade is supposed to be about comparative advantage. Let Iceland with their cheap geothermal power make aluminum and trade it for US

Exactly. The idea of global trade is supposed to be about comparative advantage. Let Iceland with their cheap geothermal power make aluminum and trade it for US agriculture. But since the shipping container, trade is no longer that. It's about allowing businesses to circumvent the labor and pollution controls at home leaving local industry uncompetitive. Tariffs are taxes, and good taxes will promote things we want and decentivize things we don't want. I'm much more sympathetic to complaints about solar panel tarrifs than I am about tariffs on cheap purses and fidget spinners.