Not paying income tax would more than offset the fact that the goods would cost more. Tariffs also capture the underground economy. Drug dealers and others would then pay these taxes too. Proponents of free trade claim we need to export goods to maintain our robust economy. This is nonsense.
Japan is the world's greatest exporter, or was.
Their economy is in the toilet, as are the economies of the other exporting nations in Asia. Proponents of free trade also invoke the name of Reagan, claiming he was a free trader. They overlook the fact that Ronald Reagan was a fair trader, as opposed to a free trader. Reagan was all for treating other countries the way they treat us. When the Japanese were dumping cars here at less than the cost to build them.