There is a middle way between protectionism and free trade. Trade is good. Letting market forces determine winners and losers is generally good (but can be disruptive if the force is applied too quickly). Allowing one's trading partner to sell more than they buy is bad. As a for instance, the Chinese sell us much more than they buy from us. For these goods, we are giving them our wealth (in the form of IOUs of currency and bonds). The disparity in trade is bad enough by itself; it's even more shameful because we allow them unfair trading practices (e.g. artificially suppressing the value of the Yuan). Trade is best when we sell more than we buy, not the opposite. We could call this an aspect of "advantageous trade". When we send in trading negotiators, we should hope they are representing our interests and looking for a trading advantage. If our trading partners (adversaries) are also doing their job, the end result will usually look like fair and free trade.