There is a foolish conception that tariffs help the nation that implements them, and hurts the nation on which they're targetted. Under this premise, threatening tariffs on others plausibly makes sense, because it encourages both sides to potentially "disarm". But the premise is flawed. Tariffs hurt both the nation on which they're targetted (obviously), but also the nation that implements them (less obvious). Yes, it may help certain special interests (uncompetitive domestic producers), but harms great numbers of less vocal victims (every consumer in the nation + any producer with constituent inputs from abroad). The number of producers which *only* have constituent inputs from within their country is suprisingly small, especially in America where our advanced economy has moved up the value chain to produce items of increasing complexity... rarely is such accomplished from within any single jurisdiction. But tariffs are cheered on with vigor by those uncompetitive domestic producers, and by the sycophants who would just as quickly decry them had the other team proposed the same. America is supposed to be a capitalist, free-market nation. As such, any government price control or tax should be viewed with disdain by principled Americans. If other nations, being more socialist, want to hamstring themselves with the sophistry of protectionist tariffs, so be it. They can find their own way through the darkness of economic ignorance. Casting such shadows on ourselves to "teach them a lesson" is decel. We are supposed to be leaders toward the path of liberty, not followers toward the path of ruin.