Because the outcry from the higher prices and inflation ceases the practice.
There's no evidence on the long-term effects of jumping off a cliff, either...for the same reason.
tariffs do not cause inflation. they cause temporary spikes in prices of
certain goods from certain countries until supply chains change evolve and adapt and markets re-adjust. for example people who used to buy crown royal liquor from Canada will probably now be buying Jameson or Jack Daniels because those products will likely be significantly cheaper than a Canadian branded whiskey product. people who were buying Ford/GM/Stellantis trucks or cars manufactured in Mexico or Canada will now be buying Japanese or Korean cars manufactured here or in Asia that don't have import tariff fees.
it's pretty wild how the definition of the word inflation has changed by the way. it used to be understood- correctly- as an increase in the money supply which destroys value of the currency and purchasing power. larger amount of money chasing the same or marginally increased amount goods and services- and well you get inflation. now it's just rising prices automatically = inflation- which is not exactly true or accurate.
the main driver of inflation is the government. always. and it's not just one team or the other at fault- it's both parties at fault. the Fed printed trillions of dollars out of thin air and increased the money supply by
FORTY percent from first quarter of 2020 to the end of 2021 meanwhile setting reserve requirements to basically 0% and the Fed fund rate to less than 1%-meanwhile the old now new guy in office had just passed the largest give corporate bail out give away in US history with the bullshit COVID/CARES Act- which exploded the deficit spending spree and then the Biden administration proceeded to get into office and pass trillion dollar spending act after trillion dollar spending act and deficit spend like it was going out of style. This was insanity that would only ever lead to inflation. And the hide the salami games the Fed plays like it's reverse repo program hit all-time daily highs under Biden- not to mention Fed bought up bonds like fucking crazy so the gov't could continue borrowing and spending like there is no fucking tomorrow- which is nothing but a phony asset swap. In theory the government pays back that debt and the balance sheet unwinds- in reality it is just the government borrowing more to cover the prior debt and the whole game just continues on and on and your money becomes worth less and less the more they do this.
the secondary cause of inflation- oil. US currency was basically defacto backstopped by oil thanks to an unofficial official deal Nixon made with the Saudis in 1970s to only trade oil in US currency and to peg their currency to the US dollar. Our currency used to be back stopped by gold and convertible into gold- then it stopped and went to being backed stopped by a weird mix of that full faith and credit bs aka "hey, we're good for it- just trust us" and: oil. when the price of oil rises it has a downstream domino effect across the board which raises the prices of everything on planet earth- that part should be self explanatory to anyone with a brain.
This is what mainly causes inflation. Full stop. Point blank. Period. It's not greedy corporations price gouging like Joe Biden tried to sell to the public- although that is a problem. It's not bad evil billionaires like Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk not being taxed on wealth that is theoretical and not actual until their shares of stocks are converted into cash. It's not tariffs. It's our government money printing and spending like no tomorrow and to a lesser degree major disruption/instability in the oil markets....and had a pretty big war and a bunch of sanctions throw that out of whack.
