I deal with products manufactured from alloy steel.
The US steel makers raised their prices when Trump put on the tariffs.
It made my pricing go up 10 - 15%.
I sell a lot of US manufactured products into Mexico. I could not raise my prices by 10-15% because my customer has access to these same products from Europe & Canada.
After much negotiations, I ended up cutting my profit margins in order to sell some products ( but not the same level as before). I lost half of my Mexican business & make only haslf my profit on the balance.
The factory lost these sales, they also lost profit margin.
My company lost ales & profit margins.
In the end less US product was exported
This is happening all across America.
Trump knows nothing about international business. He knows nothing about manufacturing.
He knows nothing about the steel industry.
And his base knows even less.