protectionism

[pruh-tek-shuh-niz-uhm]

noun

1. Economics.,  the theory, practice, or system of fostering or developing domestic industries by protecting them from foreign competition through duties or quotas imposed on importations.

2. any program, policy, or system of laws that seeks to provide protection for property owners, wildlife, the environment, etc.

Other Word Forms

• protectionist noun
• protectionistic adjective
• antiprotectionist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of protectionism¹

First recorded in 1855–60; protection + -ism

Example Sentences

"Too many countries are retreating into geopolitical blocs or the battlegrounds of protectionism," he said, but added: "In every rupture resides the responsibility to build -- nostalgia is not a strategy."

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Germany and China have long had deep economic ties, but those have frayed in recent times over issues ranging from claims of unfair trade practices to protectionism.

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The South Korean government also plans to set up a 50 billion won fund to promote domestic investment in next-generation vehicles aimed at “supporting strategic overseas expansion and overcoming global protectionism,” the office said.

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It’s a high-tech version of the Jones Act—misguided protectionism that doesn’t enhance national security.

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“A free-enterprise country elects a president who embraces protectionism, economic nationalism, and state intervention,” he writes.

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