So indeed they’re a tax. Transferring income regressively from consumers to the federal government.
While your statement is true, it is not complete. Wikipedia has a very good article on it. It is also to help with protecting inductry and maintain trade imbalances. Be sure to look at the graph of the US trade deficits over time.
For reference, I am not a Trump fan, though just because I loath and afraid of his return as president, I do not consider every word out of his mouth to be sourced from the depths of hell.
-joe
