tariffs on their own are not necessarily productive, they have to be used in conjunction with policies that spur domestic competition. But most developed natio

tariffs on their own are not necessarily productive, they have to be used in conjunction with policies that spur domestic competition. But most developed nations appear to have gone through a protectionist phase when building their industries, and often beyond, either by imposing tariffs on imports or subsidizing exports, manipulating the currency, providing cheap credit, fat government and military contracts, etc, etc, and that includes America. And it most certainly applies to China now. Tariffs and other policies should be designed to balance subsidies, eg the effective postal subsidy for Chinese goods (I use the term loosely, in many cases) delivered to American homes.