I think the US have given up too much over the decades in situations that were far from free trade. We just gave Japan the electronics industry in the late '50s and '60s so they could rebuild their economy and become a strong Cold War ally. Then we opened our market to their autos in the late '60s and early '70s. And, as much criticism as could directed at the Big Three, there was nothing they could have done to offset the impact of Japan's entry into the US auto market. There was no new market to open for US auto makers, and Japan even kept theirs closed. Japan got the key to the auto market kingdom, and the domestics got nothing in return. There is a long list of such giveaways that damaged domestic industries.
But, people often want to plot various things against GDP from 1929 until the 1950s or so to illustrate whatever. I'd love to see the money supply plotted against GDP for those years. Have you ever come across such a graph?
Trade is often used as a reward for those countries we like or want something from...a tool for foreign policy with no consideration of the effect on the economy or American business.