The objective of the research was to determine the relationship between trade policy and the output of the manufacturing sector. Three hypotheses were formulated. The study adopted ordinary least squares econometric approach on the time series data from 1986 to 2020 to generate the estimates of the models to test the hypotheses at 5% level of significance. The research concluded that there is a positive relationship between manufacturing sector output the and trade liberalization while there is a negative relationship between trade protectionism and manufacturing sector output in Nigeria for the period under review. It was therefore concluded that, since the manufacturing sector is the driver of economic growth in any economy, protection as good as it is may not positively impact the manufacturing sector if other stimulating policies are not adopted simultaneously. Liberalized trade policy should be maintained in manufacturing subsectors that utilize imported manufacturing input alongside other incentivizing policies.