You're very off base with a lot of your assumptions.
1. The reason the U.S. has too much cheese is mainly due to American cheese exports to China falling almost 60% as a result of counter tariffs, a by product of Trump's trade war. It's not just the soybean farmers who are being hurt. It's more than that though. Americans are simply buying less 'processed' cheese, the normal staple of the american cheese and dairy industry and instead are buying more imported, natural cheeses.
2. If the American dairy industry senses a specific threat from foreign competition, there is a clearly defined process that's existed since before any of us were born, where they can apply for tariff protection to level the playing field. The department of commerce regularly investigates such claims and pending the result, congress can levy taxes in the form of import tariffs against an entire industry, a specific country, or even target a particular foreign manufacturer, if it feels foreign products are cutting into US market share and negatively impacting US manufacturers, and here's the key, doing so at prices which make US producers uncompetitive. Swiss cheeses, imported from Switzerland are unlikely to ever be hit because their prices are so high (often double their US produced equivalents) that they are not deemed to be a threat. It's similar, for example how expensive crystalware has a much lower duty rate than cheap dime store "fake" crystal which is mass produced but has a much higher duty rate--because US industry can't compete against glassware so cheap it's being imported at prices below their production cost in the US.
3. To further clarify, and much to the disdain of the French wine industry, Champagne, [If it's called Champagne on the label] can legitimately ONLY be produced in the Champagne area of France. (Same as "real" parmigiano cheese only produced in Parma). However, US Customs classifies Champagne not as a specific product but by it's common description, as a sparkling wine (sacré bleu), under HTSUS 2204.10.00.30 ~ 2204.10.00.75 at a duty rate of $0.198 per liter regardless of whether it's actual Dom Pérignon or some sweet German ****. Neither is killing Napa Valley in any event.
4. So no, putting an additional tariff on French cheese, champagne, and lets not forget handbags, has ZERO to do with national security. And it has nothing to do with protecting the US Dairy and cheese industry. Which is what import tariffs are legitimately designed to do. This was a section 301 "investigation" as punishment for France for their new digital service tax--a tax imposed on any foreign 'tech' companies that have an online presence and do business in France but effectively pay no taxes. In this case, it's not surprising that companies like Google or Facebook, suddenly jump on the Trump Train and stay silent because it's in their self interest to use this form of bogus political pressure. It's a practice which goes on, has gone on during previous administrations (see the banana war of the 90s) but those were acts of congress and no president ever had the audacity to suggest it [or ****ing bananas] was an issue of national security. It was, and should remain a trade dispute and should legally fall under the domain of Congress, as it was intended by our own laws. That the President is getting personally involved is once again showing a degree of overreach. I don't have a law degree so I won't comment if it's actually illegal. But it's certainly an abuse of power. One in a long line of them.
