I also have a similar confusion
@Nottafed
I understand the logic of putting tariffs on things like European and Asian brand cars for instance, to make American brand cars more competitive within the market (at least domestically) and discourage outsourcing labor or purchasing specific car parts abroad, but those are not tariffs targeting specific products, those are blanket tariffs. Which means that some of the products effected will involve resources like rare earth minerals, minerals necessary for making computer chips and IT tech that US simply does not have, or does not hold nearly enough to match domestic demand. What is the purpose of placing tariffs on natural resources US can't extract itself? Is the US reinvigorated manufacturing industry gonna engage in alchemy and turn stone into cesium?
Excluding critical IT resources, there are agricultural products like coffee. On paper - yes, it should promote coffee bean cultivation within the US, but US territory that is capable of growing coffee beans is almost exclusively within tropical islands. It is physically impossible to meet the demand of a country of 300+ million people for a drink that's seen everywhere, all be it pumpkin spice lattes within Starbucks or black tar coffee at construction sites. It's just gonna make coffee more expensive for no discernable benefit.
I can't help but view tariffs on certain products as counter-productive in fostering productivity.