As I write this, Chinese and American trade negotiators are working to widen the door for movement of goods between the two countries. Meanwhile, American consumers may have just a few more days to shop for lower-priced Chinese-made goods.

On March 1, the 10 percent tariff now applied to a vast array of those goods is scheduled to rise to 25 percent. And surely, once again, the Chinese will retaliate. If we choose to put larger tariff rocks in our harbors to limit the inflow of their goods, they will do the same.