>>512517233 (OP)
Or it could, in the long term, push manufacturers to build things in country, thereby avoiding the tariffs while still having access to the American market.
Look, I don't know if this will work over the long haul. and no one else does either, even the economists. Probably especially trained economists. What I do know is that the totally unrestrained free trade, unrestrained capitalism we've been doing for the last 60 years isn't working. I also know that we have plenty of evidence now that socialism/communism doesn't work either (Venezuela, Cuba, USSR, etc.)
What we haven't tried in the modern era is some tariffs. Things have been so fucked up for so long, I'm willing to do this experiment. If it turns out not to work, then we'll know and end them.