...less attractive even if by artificial means. Any agreement with China is likely to be violated anyway. They have serious ambitions and are not overall a friend of the US. Having done a lot there the negotiations are generally very one sided where they shoot for we win / you lose agreements. They slap a different label and ship your product out the back door into other markets. No respect for IP. High degree of corporate and international espionage.

I love my Chinese friends, but overall the US is better off having production in Thailand, Korea, Taiwan, Mexico, or some other country that plays more fair and doesn't have ambitions to displace us as the world's super power. The near-term gains of manufacturing cost savings are not worth the long-term pain on this front (in my opinion). We also know that much of the savings are through almost an indentured servent dynamic with their workers. 

We hoped positive relations and capitalism would lead to them becoming a great friend, but they are more like frienemies. Given their behavior, purely free trade to some extent turns into long-term hurting ourselves. So though I don't like tariff's as a protectionist measure for non-competitive industries or job functions, I am okay with them here if they lead to more companies locating their manufacturing in places (including back home) that are strategically better for the country.

There, I said my peace, how's your mom? (Bob Sugar, Jerry Maguire)