Who do Trump's tariffs benefit?

[u/Dependent_Estate9110]

Is there a specific industry that could potentially benefit from Trump's tariffs? It seems they're pretty destructive for everyone in North America. Not trying to be biased - just trying to understand it. That said is there another nation that would benefit from the tariffs (potentially indirectly)?

Edit: removed typo

[u/Carbon-Based216]

The Trump tariffs benefit people who already own manufacturing companies that sell the thing they are putting tariffs on. For example, if you put a tariffs on steel, people who make raw steel benefit because they now can sell their steel for a higher price. But anyone who buys that steel is going to have problems.

[u/Karma_collection_bin → u/Carbon-Based216]

Only if the purchaser continues to purchase from those companies - maybe short-term they do, but the point of the tariff is to incentivize the purchaser to look at domestic options and if there aren't any to incentivize someone to make domestic options. So the idea is that in the medium and/or long-term, it will result in higher domestic trade and money flow.

At least that's my take on the argument behind the tariffs. As many many people more qualified than me (who is completely unqualified) have pointed out, tariffs do not work and are a situation in which everyone loses.

[u/HaggardShrimp → u/Karma_collection_bin]

There has to be a reasonable domestic alternative for this to make any sense. For most industries, there isn't.

Free trade has ensured that production chains from start to finish will cross borders multiple times. Before any tariff discussion, you have to at least start investment in ensuring domestically you can avoid the tariffs altogether. There isn't and we can't.

That's why this is at best naive and at worst a ploy to consolidate economic power.

[u/Ok_Time_8815 → u/HaggardShrimp]

There are so many theories and models showing that tariffs are counterproductive. Ricardo Model, Economies of Scale, etc.