Protectionism and tariffs simply don't work in the global world.

Capitalism will keep producing things where they make sense not where politicians want.

Exceptions make sense only to protect industries that are absolutely vital and critical for security. Ship building should be one of those for countries like US or UK.

Or when you want to kickstart an industry and need to protect it for a limited amount of time (Koreans and the Japanese both did so with some of their industrial sectors, but it was always time limited).

This administration thinks it can make every industry thrive through tariffs.

I don't see how it can work, even for a country with the resources of the US.

>Ship building should be one of those for countries like US or UK.

Yet, protectionism for that, as practiced in the US (ie. jones act), was a massive failure. There might still theoretically a domestic shipbuilding sector, but it's bloated, inefficient, and as a result is totally not up to the task of standing up to China, which does have a competent shipbuilding sector.

I'm having a hard time thinking about what products aren't "vital and critical for security". I guess toys?

> ...don't work in the global world.

Exactly. The tarriffs are but a part of the attack on the previous status quo.

The current Admin is hostile to neoliberalism, globalism, the maritime order, sole superpower, international comity, etc.

We've been heading towards a multi-polar world order for a while. It is what it is.

The current Admin is speed running the transition. There is no theory, workdview, vision for whatever comes next. Or how to get there. Just cronyism and patronage.

The prior Admin, whatever its faults, had a plan for navigating the transition, unwinding neoliberalism, to invest in domestic capacity and supply chains. (And it was working.)

But now the plan is calvinball.