There’s all kinds of protectionism going on, and there has been for many, many decades. Unions like the UAW or the AMA are mostly internal to our system whereas industries like auto or consumer electronics need protection from mostly external competition. But make no mistake, it’s all protectionism.

The main problem with competition from outside our borders is that they have very different rules and regulations as well as living stadards,etc… Thus the competitive advantages of using a highly exploited work force are very great over a unionized work force. As well as lack of environmental laws, taxes , etc…
Free trade is really more of a theory than something any country practices.