Adam Smith, long treated as the patron saint of free trade, argued in a letter written after The Wealth of Nations that tariffs could help strengthen domestic production by pushing native industry to improve quality.
The January 3, 1780 letter to British politician William Eden complicates the standard picture of Smith as an unqualified opponent of import duties. In the letter, Smith defended “moderate and reasonable duties” while criticizing outright prohibitions on imports.
“A prohibition,” Smith wrote, “can answer no purpose but that of monopoly.” A duty, by contrast, could still allow foreign goods into the market while changing the…
Read the full article at BREITBART.COM
