What does "less free countries" have to do with anything. India is perfectly free but their labor and technology is still cheaper than the US.
Besides the benefits to the people in those countries, it determines the 'global culture of freedom and human rights' that will either help or hinder the US people protect our own rights in the future as 'competition' increases. Like a 'culture' of non-union labor compeition in which workers get few rights and poverty wages is not as good as a culture where unions have increased worker pay and rights, helping non-union workers as well as competition for the workers.
Pushing American style "freedom" around the world is a failed policy. It sure sounds great, to Americans, but those countries have to come up with their own style that their own people support.
It's barely been tried. Apparently you fell for the militarist propaganda that to justify wars there was massive propaganda around it being 'for the benefit of the people to increase rights'. That was bull.
The US has had an enormously powerful influence around the world at increasing human rights - not at the point of a gun, usually.
And more protectionism is not going to help middle class american. uncompetitve companies with weak profit and small market share won't be able to hire many people with decent salary. What this country need is strategic planning. Building industries where American have competitive advantage in, ie, those that are not labor intensive. And have the corresponding programs to help middle class American to get jobs in those industries. The role of government should to to facilitate and not to add more restrictions.
And investment in competitive American industries is both good for corporations and good for middle class American.
That planning is something I've suggested for a long time. It's not enough to protect Americans. Don't get into the details here of protectionism, just recognize the need for planning where some protectionism is an option. The issue isn't protectionism - which can be a bad thing - it's whether the interests of the American people are driving or policies, or the interests of the conecntrated power in the corporatocracy that say 'screw the people, whose poverty we think enriches us, and make us even more money'.