greggerypeccary wrote Yesterday at 10:47am:
Tariffs affect the sellers AND the buyers.
Buyers pay more, if they do buy. But higher prices mean lower consumption of the imports so the seller has lower sales, lower revenue. The consumer buys the now more favourably priced local, American product (and still pays sales tax).
That is why there are counter-tariffs, to increase the price of American imports and thereby reduce their consumption in favour of local products.
Reducing import consumptions also reduces trade imbalances/deficits.
Thought experiment:
If the US imposed a 10,000 % tariff on Chinese goods, making them virtually unsellable in the US market - who would suffer more? the US consumer or Chinese industry?
Er... China.
Because nobody would pay a 10,000% tariff on crappy Chinese imports.
So only people who want to pay tariffs pay tariffs. Buy local - pay no tariff.