Trump is right on tariffs, here's why

Taxes distort economies. For example, income taxes discourage productive work; gas taxes reduce travel; and tariffs inhibit international trade. Economists often oppose individual taxes, because they imagine an ideal economy with no distortions, and see these taxes as departures from the ideal.

The Theory of Second Best challenges their view. Proposed in 1956, this theory states that if an economy is not perfectly competitive and is not free of taxes, externalities and other imperfections...