Or it could be interpreted as putting a higher value on self-sufficiency and domestic production capacity than standard free trade economic theories value those things at ($0).

Standard comparative advantage narratives don't really account for production "webs" being ecosystems that get big synergies from colocation. They do not account for geopolitical risks either.

> This essentially amounts to subsidizing industries that aren't competitive.

That's not a bad thing, especially if they are "not competitive" because foreign workers can be exploited more (and not some real competitive advantage).

There are more desirable things than the few neoliberalism optimizes for.