Exactly. But getting rid of it was the right thing to do. Same with tariffs. I believe they'd be for lowering or eliminating those today as well. You say they wouldn't be. Who knows?
Why did we go from the world's biggest exporter to the world's biggest importer?
Who cares?!? Do you realize what our economy and average income has done throughout the increase in our trade imbalance (which paleos have been screaming about for years)?
Besides, you have to have a means of protecting vital industries; you have to have a means of recovering a market once it is lost. You have to have a means of retaliating against predatory trade practices.
How would you propose we do this?