Easily.
At the end of World War II, the U.S. owned 80% of the WORLDS production. To prop up the rest of the world the U.S. started a massive effort to start production in Japan and Western Europe that had been devastated by the war. It was called the “Marshall Plan”. I hope that you are aware of it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Plan
Now 73 years later those countries continue to want the United States to support their economies. They do it by demanding a price to do business with them.
Times have changed. There is no need to allow Germany to charge 100% tariff on U.S. cars, when the U.S. charges 4% on German cars imported into the U.S. If you know why please tell me. Please tell me why a stripped-down Ford Mustang in Germany cost the price of a full sized Mercedes in the U.S.?
To your other question:
What would happen in a world without tariffs?
The folks who could produce the best product for the least amount of money would dominate the market. Germany would have a problem when a Ford costs half that of a BMW. Canada would have problems with $2 a pound cheddar cheese from the U.S. being sold in Montreal. Japanese might enjoy driving a Chevy.
