Trade wars will force more of these kinds of decisions... Cheap stuff to buy vs. employed natives. My gut says to take the options that protect the local tax base, but my gut also says people don't want to pay any money for such protection.

> Cheap stuff to buy vs. employed natives.

Who's going to employ them? AI?

The problem is that if the local tax base needs protecting, it is doomed long term anyway.

Take a look at the (no longer that big) auto makers. Decades of protectionism has just lead to companies producing shit cars nobody wants to buy. Canada dumps money into GM, Ford, and Stellantis and they produce a minority of the cars made in Canada now.