When it comes to producing things, there's a whole world out there. You aren't competing with your neighbor, and materials/labor are vastly cheaper in other parts of the globe.
Before you suggest boycotting the rest of the world, protectionism rarely works over the long term because it tends to stifle innovation and provoke trade wars. The US is already courting this with its recent green energy legislation which aims to promote domestic industries in a way that inconveniences Western Europe, for example.
Before you suggest boycotting the rest of the world, protectionism rarely works over the long term because it tends to stifle innovation and provoke trade wars. The US is already courting this with its recent green energy legislation which aims to promote domestic industries in a way that inconveniences Western Europe, for example.