Environmental protections would have been a much more justifiable motivation for attempting to modify the behavior of Chinese exporters and even the playing field for US competitors who must comply with environmental regs that Chinese firms can ignore.
But Trump's goal with the tariffs was simply to destroy economic cooperation between the US and China, so that peaceful business entanglements would be less able to prevent escalation toward war.
But Trump's goal with the tariffs was simply to destroy economic cooperation between the US and China, so that peaceful business entanglements would be less able to prevent escalation toward war.