Online ISSN 2286-0266
Print ISSN 1223-0685
© 2026 Œconomica by ASE & SOREC
 
Emmanuel Olusegun STOBER
Academia de Studii Economice din Bucureşti
This article reassesses the economic and strategic rationale of tariffs in the context of contemporary global trade, challenging both the classical presumption of their inefficiency and the uncritical revival of protectionism in recent policy practice. While traditional trade theory, grounded in comparative advantage, views tariffs as distortive and welfare-reducing, modern trade environments are shaped by oligopolistic competition, technological rivalry, global value chains, and geopolitical risk. Drawing on Strategic Trade Theory and related political economy frameworks, the article argues that tariffs may, under specific and restrictive conditions, function as instruments for shaping market outcomes, supporting strategic industries, or addressing security-related externalities. However, the analysis highlights that such outcomes depend on precise targeting, temporal limits, institutional discipline, and coordination with broader industrial and innovation policies. Absent these conditions, tariffs tend to generate economic inefficiencies, supply-chain disruptions, and retaliatory dynamics that undermine both domestic competitiveness and international cooperation. The article further situates tariffs within a broader strategic logic, emphasizing their role as bargaining tools rather than standalone economic solutions. It concludes that modern protectionism, when driven primarily by transactional or unilateral impulses, risks eroding the benefits of an open trading system without delivering sustainable developmental gains. A reassessment of tariffs thus requires integrating economic theory with strategic restraint, multilateral coordination, and long-term competitiveness objectives.

ŒCONOMICA no. 2/2025
Keywords: strategic trade theory, tariffs, protectionism, trade policy, global value chains, industrial policy
JEL: F12, F13, F15, L52, O25
Reassessing Tariffs: Strategic Trade Theory and Modern Protectionism [Reevaluarea tarifelor: teoria comerţului strategic şi protecţionismul modern]