Different Shades of American Protectionism

America now advocates the path of free markets to industrialization. However, a cursory look into its developmental history shows that protectionism has been the hallmark of industrial, investment and trade policies followed in that country. Far from adopting free market regime, it has used the strategic interventions by state to promote American industries, especially knowledge-based ones. Therefore, developing and less developed countries should not neglect the strategic role of the state in development process and completely rely on a regime based on free market forces.