Running head: THE UGLY SIDE OF PROTECTIONISM IN THE US 1 THE UGLY SIDE OF PROTECTIONISM IN THE US 6 The Ugly Side of Protectionism in the US Soumya Rastogi Royal Roads University The Ugly Side of Protectionism in the US Introduction The modern era has set in with massive changes socially, economically and politically. While there are various eye-catching trends economically, the most interesting one so far has been seeing the US, the world’s largest economy take on a protectionist approach in international trade. Protectionism entails the adoption and implementation of policies, which gives the home industries an unfair advantage at the expense of the foreign competition (Melgar, Baleix & Rossi1, 2013). On paper, protectionism seems a good economic policy for the USA, but, practically, it is unhealthy for its economy. The Discussion So far, President Donald Trump has taken a huge step towards the implementation of this approach. Other than withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact signed the former head of state President Barack Obama, Trump has also renegotiated or abandoned the NAFTA trade deal with Canada and Mexico. He has also imposed a 35% tax on every imported car as well as slapping China with a 45% tax on its exports to the country. As a result, the US native producers, workers, and business people have really enjoyed the economic protection from foreign competitors. The infant industries particularly will benefit the most as the shelter will allow them ample time and space to invest in their production amenities and workforces and win the trust of the local customers before the setting international market opens up for foreign competitors. Melgar, Baleix, and Rossil (2013) state that the emergence of the Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean industrialization is partly because they were able to protect their indigenous farms from in their infant stages, allowing them time and space to grow and fortify before going into competition with companies from the West. According to the notion of the Game Theory, protectionism may be necessary. Since other players like China, South Korea, and Japan are protecting their companies, it is also important that the US also offers its industries the same privilege. For a case in point, Tziamalis (2018) argues that if the European Union is indirectly subsidizing the European Company Airbus, the US government has a strong case to retaliate and consider subsidizing the American airplane manufacturer Boeing as well. If they do not, then European Company Airbus will eventually gain a much greater market share that, in turn, may force Boeing out of the business altogether. Nevertheless, the reality is that the protectionist approach is “ugly,” “unhealthy,’ and bad for the US economy. Considering the tenets of the Economic Theory, for instance, free trade is much healthier than restricted trade (protectionism). The school of thought holds that free trade makes ev.