Antitrade sentiment is rarely a rejection of trade itself but rather a response to its perceived negative consequences:
: Liberalization has led to significant job losses in industrial heartlands (e.g., the Midwestern U.S. or Northern England) where promised replacement jobs often fail to materialize. antitrade
: Maintaining domestic production of "strategic" goods (like steel or semiconductors) is often used to justify trade barriers so a country isn't vulnerable during a crisis. Antitrade sentiment is rarely a rejection of trade