[timewizard]

It offsets the cost of cheaper Chinese labor and material costs. With the goal of making "made in the USA" products price competitive where they were not before.

In the abstract this possibly makes more jobs in the USA for manufacturing these items. It also keeps the entire process conducted in US Dollars that stay entirely within our borders which is theoretically better for currency stability and value.

[pyrale]

Of course it what you describe is a lasting situation, no one outside of the US would buy from an industry that is only propped up by subsidies, whose product is available for cheaper elsewhere, and likely subject to counter-tariffs. From there, the USD-labelled trade outside of the US would decrease, which makes it a less interesting proposition for foreign companies to hold USD, and, by extension, T-bonds.

US companies that actually made viable products for the international market would now have to compete with artificially subsidized companies on their costs, risk getting caught in tariffs, and, unless they build a critical product, probably see their international sales decline.

[herbst]

In Theorie of a crazy orange men and a spaced out tech billionaire

[rsynnott]

Even the spaced out tech billionaire seems a bit uncomfortable with it; it's mostly just Trump's fixation.