[philk10]

your question implies that the person in charge of tariffs has any idea of the effect of using them...

[ta988]

What if the idea was to add a tax without calling it a tax so they would have more revenue to apply their plan?

[the_gipsy]

Or to tax the poor.

[__s]

I've heard this defence plenty from other Americans. & the campaign pushed "built in America" as a goal, so it seems likely the person in charge had this idea

[philk10]

so as stupid an idea as the tariffs then

[nozzlegear]

Bob Woodward's book Fear: Trump in the White House made it pretty clear that Trump (in his first term) either did not understand how trade works between countries or did not care. At the time he was singularly focused on "trade deficits," especially the one between the US and South Korea, because on paper it seemed like the US was "losing" or "being taken advantage of" by South Korea. That was all he cared about, reducing that trade deficit so the US came out on top.