0 relating to actions by a government to help its country's trade or industry by taxing goods bought from other countries:
1 protectionist laws or methods are intended to help a country's trade or industry by putting taxes on goods bought from other countries or by limiting the amount of goods that can be imported:
protectionist measures/policies Such protectionist measures penalise exporters in developing countries.
protectionist laws/measures/legislation
2 someone who supports helping a country's trade or industry by putting taxes on goods bought from other countries or by limiting the amount of goods that can be imported:
We shouldn’t jeopardize our access to foreign markets by adopting protectionist policies.
They will try to deal with the trade deficit by imposing protectionist measures.
There is resistance to free trade and a protectionist sentiment
Prior to 1846, their protectionist votes conflicted with a personal ideology that coincided more with constituents' interests.
Protectionist fallacies had all been exposed, enlightenment was spreading, and landlords' resistance simply encouraged the build-up of more pressure for revenge.
As historians have recently argued, protectionists were confident that they occupied the mainstream of tory tradition.
Even if public officials disguise protectionist policies, the resulting distortions are likely to degrade a country's macroeconomic performance.
Not only could this open the window to protectionist measures, but it would leave ambivalent the question of who decides what are fair trade measures.
