“If this escalates into a full-blown trade war, the innocent victims are going to be American consumers,” said Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation. “That’s what we’d like to avoid.”
This only lists the loses. Businesses look at profit versus loss. They want the profits to exceed the losses. Likewise, while Americans will experience higher prices because the money, that currently benefits the economies of China and Mexico, will go into the pockets of Americans in the form or raises and a stronger dollar resulting in less inflation, they will profit more than they lose. American's buying power will be increased. There are those who will lose jobs related to the import/export business, but the loss of those products will open up more American jobs to produce those products domestically. Farmers in exported markets, such as soybeans, can grow other products more popular domestically. Our nation can be self-sufficient!

If those other countries lower their tariffs and restrictions on products imported from America, their consumers will benefit and the trade deficit will be reduced. So in the long term, such a trade war can be a benefit to the world.