(like a 25% tariff on imported Japanese pickup trucks)
*yawn*
I have no idea what point you're trying to make is.
Somebody said "free trade" was one of the important reasons Detroit was a sh**t hole. I mentioned that there was a 25% import tariff on half of Detroit's bread and butter. That ain't "free trade".
On average, trade policies have become drastically less protectionist in the last several decades. You referenced a single tariff on a single product; that doesn't have any statistical significance. Read Al's last post.