I agree that there are too many licenses for stupid things that shouldn't need them.

Where I disagree with you is when you write this:

That's just what I'm talking about - there is a net wealth gain making the USA as a whole richer by the transaction, but the gains are either spread over so many customers that the impact on any single one is negligible, or remain largely in the pockets of some large companies, while the losses hit those losing their job very hard. But still the net wealth gain is there, and systematically refusing such deals through protectionism will make the nation as a whole poorer in the long run. And particularly so if the industry in question is one in which intra-national competition is weak. On top of that, since protectionism pushes other nations to be protectionist as well, the business of American exporters is affected.

No, there is no net wealth gain if a company ships its factory outside the US. Workers lose jobs and the loss in revenue from taxes paid by those individuals, taxes paid by the company for those individuals, money spent by those individuals in the community, etc., is not being offset by anything. Yes, it's marginally cheaper to buy an air conditioning unit, but that savings isn't felt beyond the consumer level and the shareholder level of the company, and can't fully offset the tangential and consequential losses of losing the jobs.

Your last point actually argues against you, though: "since protectionism pushes other nations to be protectionist as well..." America exports only 13% (roughly) of its GDP; China exports about double that. Other countries, like Germany, generate about half their GDP from exports. The fact that we export less means that we are now in a position to suffer less from protectionism and gain far more. Especially when one considers that much of what we export is not easily replicated in other countries (and therefore, that's why we still make it - like Boeing airplanes or fighter jets). I believe the Latin American countries tried to make their own car industries in the 1970s and ran up giant losses..

Finally, I'm not talking about a return to a tariff system of governance or even serious protectionism. I'm talking about providing moderate incentives.

Your tax example was underwhelming, by the way.