The Global trading system went out of whack for the industrialized countries as soon as we started talking free-trade with undeveloped or underdeveloped economies without taking into account transition. You have to also take into account wages, labour rights, human rights (not even because you care about the human rights of people in a far away land, but because they cost money and competing against those without them will make you uncompetitive), ditto environmental protections and the rule of law, capital mobility (high) vs labour mobility (low) etc.  The "great free-traders", who as the writer rightly suggests have a poor understanding of Ricardo, but also of the basic economics or trade in a democratic society.