Many think the administration has slapped tariffs like a drunken sailor because it wants to bring the jobs back, punish the countries who were abusing us, protect the domestic industries, etc.
This can't be farther from the truth.
To understand what's happening, we need to look at the government maturing debt in the next 30 years.
An unusual load of debt must be refinanced just in the next few years during this administration.
You would need two things to do that, (1) a load of cash, and (2) low interest rates.
Slapping tariffs would do exactly that: (1) bringing a load of cash to the government, (2) causing the money in equity market to panic and escape to the treasuries which will cause the interest rates to drop.
Icing on the cake would be if Powell capitulates and lowers the funds rate "because" we might enter a recession.
As you can see, this is more of an emergency measure for a near term problem, something that has to be done if the country doesn't want to default and destroy the dollar.
So the thinking that the government is going to negotiate with China to remove the tariffs is completely flawed. The administration needs this money.