Actually the tariff system is what WE used to protect our fledgling industries (like emerging nations have done recently).
England couldn't protect their industry with tariffs as they depended on trade off shore to keep their industries booming- they lacked a big enough domestic market for their level of production. Our cheaper goods beat them out in Europe and the rest of the world.
That continued into the industrial age where a cheap Ford outsold the more expensive and overly complex (by that day's standard) European vehicles. The elite may have owned Rolls around the world but Ford outsold Rolls Royce around the world.
As England lost her captive markets (her overseas Empire) she lost her factories as those markets gladly accepted cheaper goods from competing countries- no tariff blocks that.
If we attempt a tariff system for incoming goods OUR goods will simply no longer have a market off shore as the other nations will block our imports.
Bottom line here and abroad remains the same as in Henry Ford's day- the guy who can produce the most the cheapest with some reliability and consumer demand will win. For every rust belt worker longing for a return of the good ol' days there are 4 consumers who just want cheap goods and they don't care who made it...
eace