I'm not sure where you took your sociology class but you ought to know that culture != race. Next time, you might try to respond directly to the person's statements instead of attempting to discredit them through unwarranted accusations of racism.

the distinction I think you're trying to make isn't necessarily racism, but a bias toward ignorance-promoting tendencies to remain ignorant which can have the same result: insulation of thoughts, ideas, decisionmaking from outside views

i don't think it's wrong to say that you could probably find some improvement from an outside perspective and that you may be missing something if you aren't, but I don't think it's a simple enough problem that you can reduce aversion towards change to any single motivation without trying to understand their reasoning

The US economy is not struggling and is not here to serve your interests.

It absolutely make "economic sense" to pay domestic salaries and keep the wealth in the country.

Is it also wrong to prefer buying products made in your country?

>a whiff of racism about it

Be sure to tell the interviewer this during your next interview with a US company. Surely doing so will cause them to hire you immediately.