For stuff like that, it’s primarily the raw materials cost, not the labor. It’s basically the same question of why foreign made steel is cheaper than US despite the cost to transport.
It’s been going on that way (to some extent) for as long as there has been trade (ie - as long as we’ve been on this planet). Whether it’s within a village where you have people specializing in farming, hunting, etc. to trade between towns, and eventually continents. Even formal “modern” global trade has been around for over a thousand years. Often with actual slave labor involved in the production of goods. I’m not saying there isn’t inequality that should be addressed within the model, but the general concept isn’t exactly new. And in the context of the tariff discussion, free trade doesn’t really help address the disparity issues and in many ways encourage it. At the end of the day, every person/town/country/etc. should be striving to create as much value as they can. Whether that’s manufacturing goods, writing books, developing software, designing buildings, etc., all those things have value that can ultimately be traded for other things of value. A great CEO can demand a huge salary because he’s convinced others his decisions create a huge amount of value. A factory worker can only create so much value in the work they do because the goods only sell for so much. Tade gets paid millions a year to ride his bike because he’s got generational genetics and people value winners in pro sports. None of it’s fair, the best you can do is try to level the playing field so everyone has a reasonable chance to create value. No easy task with different cultures and beliefs all over the world.
We wouldn’t need tariffs at all. Government could forgive taxes and not tax the lower classes and still make tons of money. (And India/Pakistan might make all this moot)