[hedgetrimmer]

My understanding is that free trade is what let the West rise and the lack of it is what doomed Communism.

Free trade destroyed the British Empire.

Protectionism and tariffs were the rule of the day for US trade policy for nearly 200 years. It is exactly what made our economy the powerhouse that it was. China, now an economic superpower, is extremely protectionist. Their economy is benefitting from protecting certain industries.

Malthus wrote a very good essay on free trade and Britain. You should read it.

Also note that the "free trade" system set up by the WTO isn't. It is mananged trade by socialist internationalists. Congress has no authority in the Constitution to give that group power to regulate our trade, but since the American people have been made ignorant of the supreme law of the land, they have not been challanged.

[cambridge]

Protectionism and tariffs require that government's choose 'winners', i.e. that they're actively involved in industrial policy and hence the allocation of resources. China does this because it's a communist state. I believe that a free market is the best way to organize an economy.