Everyone hates tariffs because everyone hates taxes. If a government uses protectionism for a specific policy goal, like developing a domestic auto industry, that can be very effective and we've seen that work lots of times in lots of countries. The US may have recently managed to achieve this with microchip production.
But when tariffs are applied broadly we all pay more in taxes. And it's worse than a more familiar increase in sales or income tax because it can absolutely wreck supply chains.
But when tariffs are applied broadly we all pay more in taxes. And it's worse than a more familiar increase in sales or income tax because it can absolutely wreck supply chains.