Protectionism rests upon a moral glorification of an economy's least competitive producers. The Government must take care of producers. No government was ever organized to get everybody something for a cheap price. The market does that. Protectionists murder the market and then scorn consumers for being orphans.
Fair trade is based on the doctrine that producers have rights and consumers have duties.
Fair trade assumes that the consumer's freedom of choice is an injustice to the producer. The soul of protectionism is that if a company cannot stand on its own two feet, government should force its customers to carry it. Protectionism is a Dred Scot policy for consumers, the federal government promising not to let American consumers escape from American businesses who want to charge them higher prices. Protectionism means shackling some people in order to enrich other people. Government cannot restrict trade without redistributing income.