I ask because AFAICT the people who are in favour of trade barriers are the same who always are. The situation doesn't seem unusual. We have roughly the usual number of populists waving footguns, etc. What am I overlooking?
However, soon China will be selling electric cars that are both cheaper and better than any of the traditional makers, and looking to sell them worldwide. This will trigger protectionist actions in the big manufacturers countries, but also seeing their markets dry up, all those countries will also be negotiating trade deals with any country who will listen to also block China selling to their country.
However, I think there's a minor disconnect: I can easily see how e.g. the US might want to block sales from China to e.g. Brazil, but the way from wanting a goal to having an agreement ratified by both countries is long and involves painful phases like getting internal agreement about the concessions made.
The cars coming out of traditional manufacturers have onbvious flaws that could be fixed tomorrow.
But they don't...
The Chinese cars are compelling, so I don't doubt that Washington will say "they won't look so good if the $19k starting price became $82k after penalty taxes."