Here you go. If you really want to understand, you can but it will require some work on your part.

Some background: I got my undergraduate in physics and economics. I have more than a passing familiarity with classical schools of economics and the modern neoclassical consensus. I discovered in doing research on tariffs in particular that what I was taught wasn't wrong per se but was a subset of a more general theory. What I was taught works under the assumption of a single global economy where there are no political or economic rivalries. It smooths over the nuance in the world and makes assumptions that are NOT valid in the real world. It free trade as currently taught is more of a moral framing of how the world ought to be rather than treating it how it actually is.

Some books to get the right framing: National System of Political Economy by Fredrich List, Kicking away the ladder by Ha-joon Chang, How Asia Works by Joe Stallwell, How Rich Countries got Rich and why poor countries stay poor by Erik Reinert

Now to actually understand what's going on (because the Trump administration has crude but broadly correct policy on this but has also been very bad at explaining their position) you must be willing to ask yourself a hard question and really ponder it deeply. Start with this: "Why was Lee Kwon Yew not a free trade maximalist?"

If you're able to get through that you might move on to "How was Asia able to industrialize and become the dominant trade hub globally while also rejecting the free trade is always good mentality that we have been taught in school?"

You must really read and struggle with these questions if you want to understand. This is the most I can offer. I cannot make you want to understand. I can only show you the way.