Tariffs and war wrecks demand and worsens inequality.
Clifton B Parker, 18, Hoover Institution communicator, "A global trade war may produce a recession in the U.S., Stanford economist says", Stanford News, 8-9-2018, https://news.stanford.edu/2018/08/09/global-trade-war-may-produce-recession-u-s-economist-says/, Wooster FG
When America puts tariffs on Chinese goods, it helps U.S. producers at the expense of U.S. consumers.
What is the likely result of a trade war with China, the European Union and other countries?
If the trade war between the U.S. and China and the U.S. and Europe intensifies, it can lead to a recession. It will cause consumers in the U.S. to cut back on purchases of the now more expensive domestically produced goods. The U.S. producers of those goods will expand their workforces and purchases of raw materials, but other U.S. producers will find less demand for their products from foreign buyers as well as U.S. consumers who are now poorer due to the imposition of tariffs. Those producers will lay off workers and buy fewer raw materials. The adjustment to this new pattern of demand will not be instantaneous and will be painful and costly to the workers thrown out of work.