Saving 226 U.S. jobs with $221 million per year? Why don’t we send them to some Caribbean resorts instead?

According to a study by professors Gary Hufbauer and Kimberly Elliott, “ the annual consumer costs per American job "saved" by "special" protection range from $100,000 to over $1 million and average $170,000. Consumers thus pay over six times the average annual compensation of manufacturing workers to preserve each job.”

In 1990, the U.S. tariff on luggage was estimated to be protecting only 226 U.S. jobs, at an annual cost to consumers of $221 million, or $934,000 for each job protected.  Why don’t we just buy the workers all year long luxury holidays in some Caribbean Islands? No..... In that case who are to feed the union leaders and the lobbyists? The whole protectionism businesss is never about the welfare of hardworking workers!

They are not alone. In Europe, the Common Arigcultural Policy uses up almost half of the European Union's budget to protect an industry that employs only 5% of the labor force, and raise the price of food to consumers.

Measuring the Costs of Protection in the United States
(by Gary Hufbauer and Kimberly Elliott)
This comprehensive study finds that tariffs and quantitative import restrictions in place in 1990 cost American consumers about $70 billion, more than 1 percent of GDP. The net national welfare loss, after deducting tariff revenues and transfers to domestic producers, was $11 billion, of which perhaps 70 percent was captured by foreign producers as quota rents.
Nearly half of the consumer costs are accounted for by 21 highly protected sectors, and more than a third, $24 billion, are attributable to textiles and apparel alone. The cost to consumers of "special" protection aside from textiles and apparel dropped sharply in the 1980s, from $15 billion in 1984 to $6 billion in 1990. If it is ratified, the Uruguay Round will result in a further large reduction in these costs, particularly in textiles and apparel. Still, the annual consumer costs per American job "saved" by "special" protection range from $100,000 to over $1 million and average $170,000. Consumers thus pay over six times the average annual compensation of manufacturing workers to preserve each job. In terms of net national welfare, the cost per protected job is about $54,000.
This figure far exceeds the cost per worker of the most generous adjustment program entailing income support, retraining, and relocation. This study will be indispensable to public and private sector decision makers and analysts concerned about the very high costs and small benefits of US import barriers. Teachers will find this book an engrossing way to introduce students to the cost of protection calculations that government economists and trade negotiators frequently make.

Reference: David N. Weil, "Economic Growth", Chapter 11, Growth in the open economy