It’s funny how most of what I read these days boils down to, “it could be a good idea, but when trump does it it’s bad”
Tarifs are a powerful tool to product specific industries. When implemented properly (focused on specific industries) they can change behavior, support local jobs, increase national objectives.
Applied consistently, in a predictable way, across decades, they allow rational players to predict the future, and invest accordingly. If I can see that washing machines have a floor price I can invest in a washing machine factory.
When implemented broadly (like across all industries, globally, at random percentages) they achieve none of the above. All they achieve are higher prices. Tariffs on coffee serve no domestic goals since the US has no coffee industry.
The problem is not that Trumps ideas are bad. Voters love his policies. But he's lazy. It's easiest to just slap "10% on the world" than say 10% on lumber to protect the local lumber industry. Worse, there's no stability. The here-today-gone-tomorrow approach defeats the point. I'm not investing in a new lumber mill if those 50% tarifs will be gone by July.
So to answer the post higher up, Trump takes good ideas, but executes them badly. It's not a double-standard, it's just that he's good at talking but really, really bad at doing things. Doing hard things is hard, and he's lazy.
On the other hand he's a good grifter. No one grifts like he does. If his goal in getting elected was to enrich himself, then he's doing a great job.
Is a house fire good because a campfire is good?
Is a flood good because droughts are bad?
Your comment seems to indicate an incredible lack of curiosity.
If you import more from the US than you export, you're still seeing a 10% tariff. These things are being used by a bully to bully, nothing more, the way he ran things as a landlord. They lack coherence and strategy, and are often portrayed in conflicting terms (the are to reshore vs they are temporary negotiation tactics... hint, they are actually for extorting praise and bribes)
The only way out so far is to pay tribute, largely by American companies who don't want to pay tariffs on their imports.
More recently it seems TFG is once again dialing back the tariffs because the economic fallout is being voiced by more parties.
It's not bad just because TFG does it, but because he doesn't understand economics and many other things the leader of America ought to have some basic understanding of. It's clear he's too old for the job
It could be a good idea for the right reasons and with a good implementation. Is Trump doing it for the right reasons and in with a good implementation?