Probably backfired, with people from other economies filling the hole, and opportunities for bilateral trade affected. Ironic given the majority of the pre industrial revolution silk weavers in London were Hugenot migrants, settled in Stepney.

Our Hugenot migrants did well with their watch industry right up until the japanese ate their lunch with quartz movements.

Samuel Slater memorized the designs for textile machinery, emigrated to the US, and built the first textile mills in the US.

It might have been smarter for the British to sell their machines to the US, rather than banning exports and thereby encouraging the development of American copycat competitors.