Look at what happened to the Swiss watch industry with the advent of quartz technology in the 1970, their sales of mechanical timepieces were decimated by the arrival of the new technology.
However they adapted and focused on quality at the high end and introduced the Swatch at the low end. The industry survived becaused it adapted to change, protection would not have helped as the domestic market could not have supported the manufacturers who exported most of their production, the Swiss having 50% of the world watch market prior to the 1970s.
The Swatch group became the worlds largest watch manufacturer and the top end brands such as Rolex continue to prosper.