The BLS released its August report on import prices today. They were down 0.3%, or 3.7% on an annualized basis.
But here's a more interesting long-term look at import prices adjusted for overall inflation:
Why do we buy so many imported goods? Because they're cheap! The price of imported goods, after adjusting for overall inflation, has dropped 23% over the last decade and 38% since 1990. Why wouldn't we buy them?
NOTE: And do you see that ~20% increase during the pandemic? It was largely responsible for our inflation spike. It's over now, and so is inflation.
Because we want to continue to have a robust domestic economy?
The domestic economy seems to be pretty robust now and for the past three years. Highest post-pandemic GDP growth by far of any comparable country. Record low unemployment. Inflation down faster than most and now down to close to what economists generally think is about right for a growing free enterprise economy. Wages up above inflation particularly at lower wage levels.
The whole offshoring thing was less a conspiracy than just Comparative Advantage as taught in every Econ 101 class, also enabled by container shipping costing a fraction of old shipping methods.
But it seems like even for liberal politicians explaining any of this to voters is considered to be too much and pandering is in order instead. They are no doubt correct.
And of course we could have done a whole lot for cities which were very seriously hit by all of this including manufacturing just leaving for much lower wage/anti union states. This process was happening already by 1960, well over half a century ago. Trump did some things which were either stupid or just transparent shams that all failed. Biden's (so called) Inflation Reduction Act has a lot of serious real stuff in it though.
Plenty of scope for the TrumpTariffs then!