Same thing. Marx and Engels did not support free trade as a means of running the economy, only as a tool for the destruction of capitalism. The implication was that free trade was a Marxist concept. It is the antithesis of that. It is the ultimate expression of capitalism. You see I don't believe in Marx and Engels or their theories. I don't believe in their premise.
There for to say that Marx was a free tradeer is to completely misinterpret him, Marxism, and what he wrote. He was not embracing free trade for himself, he was only embracing it as a negative force.
Marx and Engels appreciated the revolutionary and internationalist effects of free trade. So do some corporate executives and management gurus today, though "revolutionary" means something very different to them today. In no way was Marx a protectionist. He despised most protectionists.
But I don't know what the original argument was about. I just jumped in because it looked like your quote didn't represent what the communists believed. I don't know what the context of your argument was, and whether you're defending free trade from association with Marx or attacking protection as Marxist. That makes a difference. Defenders always have an easier time proving a case.
So I suppose I'll just leave it at this: Marx wasn't a free trader in the conventionally accepted business-oriented sense of the word, but he also wasn't a protectionist in the usually accepted nationalist or business-oriented sense of the word either.