Reply #92: You are correct

[Nederland]

South Korea did practice protectionism in order to protect its infant industries. However, I was talking about US trade barriers, not South Korean ones. As I have repeatedly pointed out, South Korea could never have gotten to where it is today if the US had imposed the type of trade barriers that many Democrats would like to see imposed.

People on this thread seem to argue that free trade hurts third world countries and helps US corporations. In fact, free trade does the complete opposite--its helps third world countries develop their own manufacturing base while hurting US bsed firms. If you are a Pat Buchannan type America Firster, advocating trade barriers make complete sense. The question is, should Democrats be pushing the platform of Pat Buchannan?