Subject: Re: Tariffs - $600 billion
People never learn from history...[sigh]

Of course, I actually first learned about this from Ferris Buehler. The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act of 1930. An attempt to raise funds to ameliorate the Great Depression. It actually made the Depression worse, because a tariff doesn't happen in a vacuum. It provokes behavioral responses (e.g. people shift their buying habits), and also retaliatory tariffs. Which, again, will shift buying habits.

For very specific applications (e.g. a nation "dumping" product on the market), it can be a useful tool. As a general policy, it is stupid.