I'm a bit torn on this subject. Removing Trump from the equation, because, well just because. It seems that there are some very bad times and very bad industries to have trade wars in. But, I can see the positive in them as well in certain instances. I think a blanket approach just doesn't work. I'm reminded of the timber/wood/furniture industries. In North Carolina entire towns just closed up due to China undercutting our furniture industry. Did you know most of our timber is now shipped to China so they can make our furniture and ship it back. That can't be great for the environment and it definitely isn't great for all the folks that used to make furniture in North Carolina. Not the mention the destruction that their voracious appetite for our trees is causing.
Steel isn't that different to me, but there are many other areas where I think it doesn't make sense to fight it and better to just let them use their cheap labor to bring down costs on goods we import. However, I think we should always strive to have manufacturing in the U.S. In 2008 when the economy hit the crapper everyone was talking about how since we had very little manufacturing in the U.S. anymore there just wasn't any jobs for folks displaced. Now that the economy has picked up a bit, we have much more manufacturing than 5 years ago and the consensus seem to be that it's due in part to a lot of manufacturing jobs coming back after 2008. Overall I fall more to the side of free market, free trade almost every time. But, it's hard for me when countries utilize what is basically slave labor to offset their costs giving them the ability to undercut our market with cheaper products. In some instances it sorts itself out I guess, like when you go to buy a tool and realize you can by one made in China for half the cost, or you could buy one made in the USA for twice as much but it will last your whole life. People have that option, which seems like a positive. I think I'm pro trade war just about anytime China is involved. Their industries are ran by the government so they protect them very strongly by offsetting costs and even outright banning competing companies from other countries. I think we should be much harder on them in those cases. Just my two cents. I just started following you and I've already found something that really had my mind churning so thanks for that.