There was no abuse in trying to clear away the hurdles erected by the British. It was a political necessity to strengthen those sectors necessary in an independent nation. It was exactly "artificial props" which had to be cleared away. Or artificial constraints.
Clearing hurdles was not all that happened. We're talking, remember, about protectionism - it's not enough to clear the hurdles in front of us, we must do our best to throw them in front of others.
Unless a case can be made that only industries critical to defense were protected, then I don't think that you can claim political necessity as justification for a tarrif. You can say all you want that there was no abuse, but someone got rich.