Imports and buying power of fiat currency

The same discussion emerged again on national television today: a “top” politician said it’s “sad that we have to imports stuff rather than make it ourselves”.

In a free market, would it be any advantage if a country produces stuff inside it’s borders rather than importing it from elsewhere?

I already addressed the notion of “national economy” in this thread: National Economies - #2 by nhaag

Basically, in a true free market, the distinction “our economy” / “their economy” is irelevant.

Does it make a difference in the non-free market (what we have now) ?