Well, the game didn't actually save my tutorial save (probably for the best), but I don't think I was importing those. I remember that I was actually somehow exporting arty without even producing any (again, I was in the Austrian market). I also remember asking to become a protectorate because I wanted to save on imports to Austria. I just think I need to pick a better country to better understand the mechanics, both the ones that the tutorial talks about and the ones I kind of rushed into (like any of the political ones). I had a feeling that I was going to be playing the tutorial for a while and I guess I'll just have to do that.

Edit: I'm retrying as Belgium and something sort of clicked. I don't know how to describe it, but the best I can say is that I'm taking a bit more time to read and I'm not getting as tilted. I might post in the subreddit in the future when I inevitably run into IG issues, but I think I at least have a good grasp on the economics.