How is your free trade world going to deal with that?
I am sorry, but I just don't think free trade is good.
its not their extremely low pay scale that make China the best place to invest. If that was so, Zimbawae would be the mecca of the manufacturing world. Free trade is good, because freedom is good
It's far better than the alternative. As you note:
We could reduce all sales taxes to zero and the Chinese would still be able to make things cheaper because of their extremely low pay scale. How is your free trade world going to deal with that?
Whether the US has tariffs or not, China will produce things at a much lower cost. US consumers will buy the cheapest alternative. If you raise tariffs on every import to force the US produce to be as equivalent price, it would cause two huge changes: first, the rest of the world would stop buying US products entirely (sharply lowering our production), and secondly, inflation would skyrocket as we would be forced to pay the highest possible global price on every good. The economy would be in tatters. Purchasing power would be cut in half... and production (which is what your fantasy solution is attempting to help) would not increase at all. Our target market would be reduced to 300 million people, rather than the 6 billion we currently serve. We are still the #1 nation in production. Your "solution" would drop us to the middle of the pack faster than any Democrat could ever dream of.
It is never a wise idea to have government setting prices and attempting (feebly) to control markets. Forcing US consumers to choose products at US prices does exactly that. Recall that the Depression was made far worse because of the Hawley-Smoot tariffs. Do you really want to learn THAT particular lesson again?!