infant industry argument..

There is a a good article in the New York Times about the so called "infant industry argument" in trade literature..

excerpt

The Chinese government operated on several levels as that nation grew into an export powerhouse, Mr. Rodrik said. It nurtured the manufacture of electronic products and auto parts. It forced foreign investors into joint ventures with domestic producers. Beijing lowered trade barriers, he said, “only after it developed a relatively sophisticated manufacturing capacity.”

link
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/30/business/worldbusiness/30trade.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

update

here is the ongoing debate in mankiw's blog about this artcile
http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2007/01/rodrik.html