I don't follow this argument.

If our local industries cannot survive in an environment where we "fully open up trade" to the supposed benefit of making things better by having competition -- a point I also don't agree with; cheaper does not always mean better, and I don't want to only have certain American food products of lower quality for example -- that means that we then become entirely reliant on America in those sectors. When that happens what is the outcome of the next spat with them? We need to be more self-reliant, not less.