Yes, the US for instance was protectionist, once it had a domestic industry. And, earlier in its industrial development, it also stole IP from England[1]. It

Yes, the US for instance was protectionist, once it had a domestic industry. And, earlier in its industrial development, it also stole IP from England[1]. It seems to be the way things are done. The only thing moderating US protectionism, in those early years, was the large agricultural exporting economy of the South. The other bit is that over a quarter of the worlds population are currently under US sanctions. With much of the world acting in lockstep so as to stay in the good graces of the US[2]. Looking at what Cuba has accomplished just in its biotech industry while under crippling sanctions (for 60 years) makes me think they could really flourish without the sanctions[3]. My argument is that it is necessary to end sanctions for a county to flourish, but it is not sufficient. For instance, ending sanctions and returning seized funds will not make a country like Afghanistan into a rich country (it may prevent an estimated 1M children from dying of starvation due to US sanctions, though[4]). [1] https://news.sky.com/story/cyber-is-changing-war-but-its-peace-we-should-worry-about-11615783 https://news.sky.com/story/cyber-is-changing-war-but-its-pea... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_sanctions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_sanctions [3] https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/how-cuba-became-a-biopharma-juggernaut https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/how-cuba-bec... [4] https://www.ft.com/content/b038dec2-a49d-46d5-b187-3dd7216a2931 https://www.ft.com/content/b038dec2-a49d-46d5-b187-3dd7216a2...