[Torie]

And Bush2 went native with steel. Which goes to show how truly dead a letter protectionism is. That had to be abandoned in a hurry as the trade courts closed in for the kill, and trade retaliation was in the offing. The US is no longer in a position, to dictate trade terms to anybody of importance. The whole system is joined at the hip, monetarily, and in every other way. That genie is never going to be put back in the bottle again. All that is left is for some demagogic politicians to give the cause some lip service, as they pander for votes.

[Pelham]

That sounds a good deal like a replay of Norman Angell's The Great Illusion.

[AmishDude]

Protectionism is particularly unsuccessful in America. With respect to any good, the overwhelming majority of Americans are consumers. So, lower prices are always popular. But smaller countries sometimes depend on one industry. So their politicans can make a much better case for protecting that industry. They can demagogue the US every time and get away with it, even if they hurt their own economy doing so.