You don't have to ban foreign competition, it just has to be an informed choice.

Why is company x cheaper, what can we do to emulate them (do we want to?). Although we might have higher costs buying locally what other benefits do we have?

you as a consumer are free to make this decision yourself. This is why "Alaska Grown" farmers are still popular and competitive up here.

Exactly. Spend some time in the foreign Soviet Bloc and this is crystal clear.

If all things are equal and the advantage of the foreign competitor is based entirely on cheaper labor and efficient production then fine. Let the market sort it out. There should however be protections against the outsourcing of pollution. You shouldn't be able to undercut local products by dumping your waste stream in a river. Which is often the case. There should also be some basic standards for the foreign workers who produced imported goods.