A perfect example of what would happen if most or all manufacturing returned to the US (Christmas, premium)

[James Bond 007]

I have a little hobby of collecting nutcrackers. I think I have maybe about 50 of them, scattered around my house. I keep them up all year, even though they're mostly Christmas themed. I just like the ambiance of them.

Basically, they're divided into 2 categories:

1. The standard, made-in-China ones you can get at Macy's or Target or even the supermarket during Christmas season. These run anywhere from about $20 to $100, maybe a little bit more, depending on size and other factors. At least 3/4 of my collection consists of these, because they are cheap and easy to get.

2. The really nice, "artisan" made-in-Germany ones you can get from some specialty stores, or order online. Steinbach and Ulbricht are the two makes I've bought most of. You can get similar ones from other (European) countries as well, at similar prices (Russian ones are popular, too). They typically run AT LEAST $200, and more often $300 or more. They are REALLY nice, but they are also REALLY expensive. Why? Because, in addition to being nice, they're also made in Germany, where labor costs are expensive, and making these things is very labor intensive.

Needless to say, the latter ones I only buy once in a blue moon. It's not like I often have $300 to kill on a rather trivial decoration for my house. Though I definitely prefer them, it's just not something you can buy regularly.

Now, let's say, for some reason, all manufacture of nutcrackers sold in the US, was moved to the US, because Donald Trump (or someone else) imposed a 1000% tariff on made-in-Asia nutcrackers. What would happen?

Simple: The prices of nutcrackers would go through the roof, and most of them would be priced similar to the made-in-Germany ones (since labor costs in the US are similar to that of Germany). A "cheap" one would be $200.

In this scenario, would a lot of people still buy nutcrackers?

NO!

In fact, the nutcracker industry would practically grind to a halt. Very few people are going to regularly shell out $200 or more for a nutcracker, and people like me would practically give up their hobby. Very, very few people would be employed in the US making nutcrackers due to abysmal sales ... though I'm sure a nice cottage industry would pop up on eBay of people selling their old made-in-China ones, at a steep premium undoubtedly.

A counter-argument often runs something like this: Well, maybe it would only employ a small handful of people, but that would make a difference for that small handful of people.

Sorry, doesn't work. Those jobs might be nice for a small handful of people, but there is another small handful of people working in ports and distribution networks whose jobs would not be needed anymore since there would be no more nutcracker imports (and I note that port jobs pay well). The net effect would be to do nothing more than make a lot of people who collect nutcrackers unhappy. That's it.

It is logical: The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few. There are many consumers of nutcrackers. Produced in the US (and even China), there are very few producers of nutcrackers. Thus, the needs of the consumers, outweigh the needs of the producers.