Do tariffs imply taxing another country?

Question:

Hello, I keep seeing the argument that a tariff is a tax on another country. Although I understand tariffs are taxes at the import, I wonder if a sovereign country can even legally 'tax' another country to support their argument. I understand we can tax foreign COMPANIES that do business on our soil, but how could a country tax another on trade?

Answer:

Countries are not taxing other countries or their governments; they are setting up a machinery (the entire system of tariffs) to tax the companies of foreign nations who wish to sell foreign-made products in the country. More correctly, think of a US company, A, that imports some goods from a Chinese company, B. Then a US tariff on China is paid by A when it imports good from B. Now, some of this tax is passed on to B (which hurts B and hurts China) but some of it is passed on by A to American consumers (which hurts the US).