Protectionism let Harley Davidson make their motorbikes cheap enough to compete on the world stage in the 1970s. Except, they never bothered because they didn't

Protectionism let Harley Davidson make their motorbikes cheap enough to compete on the world stage in the 1970s. Except, they never bothered because they didn't need to compete - protectionism kept them nice and profitable, regardless of what they did. Protectionism can be done well, but blindly applying it is dangerous and stupid.